Hello there :)

Today we are going to go over a bit of a touchy topic with many people, that being the fifth commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Exodus 20:12)

Now, the "problem" with this commandment is the way many take it to mean an exclusion to all else. They take honour to mean "obey," and while that is the same line 99.99% of the time, as we go into these last days Satan will make every use of that .1% to divert those seeking Yah to other roads prepared for their destruction.

The line between honour and obey is only drawn in one case : Yah's will. The will of the Father in heaven is the only thing that can come over the will of the father on Earth. Christ foresaw this, and he gave us clear instruction for what we will be called to do, should the word of God and the will of man, even our own father and mother, conflict.

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26-27)

Now obviously Christ is not saying we are to "hate" anyone, and help comes in that the word in Greek is "Miseo," which also means to love less. Christ is saying that if any should come to Him, and if, *compared to their love for Him* they do not hate their parents, wife, children, etc, they cannot be His disciple. They are not worthy of Him.

Peter also gives us a fitting statement in Acts to the council of the high priest, when they were charged not to preach the word of God.

"And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:27-29)

Now, if God should call us to do something contrary to the will of our earthly parents, we are to obey God in all ways. Yet, does this even then mean that we are to dishonour them? Does God ask us to break one of His commandments under certain circumstances?

The difference between "Honour" and "Obey" at this point becomes much clearer. Christ did not "Obey" his earthly mother and 'father' when he stayed in Jerusalem after the Passover, and sat in the temple of the teachers, amazing the wise men at the age of 12. Yet when his mother came to him about this behavior, Christ did not answer with an angry rebuke, nor did he speak a harsh or dishonouring word to her. He simply corrected her subtly, asking if she would not wish Him to be about His Father's business. (Luke 2:40-49) Thus he kept the commandment to "honour thy father and mother." Christ had a mission to accomplish on this earth, and no earthly ties could keep Him from His Father's will. We ought to do likewise, as we also have a mission on this earth, to spread the gospel of Christ, to do the will of the Father in all things.

As time draws on, every possible weapon will be used against us as we draw closer to the high calling of God in Christ Yahshua. Sadly the family unit, and even our parents, the ones trusted with our upkeep, are not beyond this list. We will find as we go about the work of Yah that there will be times even our own parents seek to bring us from the work of Yah, and will even dare to call us sinners and breakers of the 5th commandment for honouring Yah's will over theirs. Thankfully, Christ has given provision in His word for these cases, and has given promises for those in this particular situation.

"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." (Psalms 27:10)

"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." (Luke 18:29-30).

We are called to remember Job, who lost his entire family by Satanic aggression. His wife scoffed at him, his children and lands were destroyed, and yet he blamed not God for this. In the end he was given many times what he had before.

What is an idol, or idolatry? Easton's Bible Dictionary has the following definition: "worship or divine honour paid to any created object. Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Rom. 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (1:28). The forms of idolatry are,

(1.) Fetishism, or the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.

(2.) Nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature.

(3.) Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes. In Scripture, idolatry is regarded as of heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations."

If we honour any being, any created being, above God, what do we have? We have an idol. If we love or cherish anything on this Earth more than YHWH, we have an idol. We have something or someone that we are paying worship and divine honour to, because we place its priority higher than God's. If we put the word of father and mother above the word of Yah, how do we have anything less than an idol? How is this not "Hero worship?"

In his most pointed words on this topic, Christ says some of the most curious as well.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 10:34-39)

Christ tells us, among many other things in this passage, that he is not come to send peace but a sword, to turn men at variance against his own household. At first this would seem to go against the entire purpose of Yahshua's ministry. However, what is the theme of the passage we just read? Is it not speaking of those who choose to follow Christ above all, taking their cross and loving not daughter nor mother nor father more than Him?

Christ did indeed come to send a sword, but not by any fault of His, nor the gospel's. When the light of truth shines, there will always be those, most likely in far greater number, who reject it just as vehemently, and make every effort to keep those around them from escaping into the new life.

Until sin is destroyed in that last and great day, there will always be those clinging to their sins in face of the light, and seeking to suppress the gospel of Christ. These attack the gospel and its source, they seek to keep others from escaping into Yah's prepared place, and a sword is sent when they play the role of Satan's agents, seeking to counter the work of the gospel.

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:4-5)

This will be true not only of Christ but every follower of His, be they young or old. God's will is for us to honour our earthly parents, but to obey them only to the point that the will of God should cross their stated plans for our lives. We are at this point called to disobey parents to render service to God, however even while doing this we are to honour them, and show them due respect. They are two lines that are most often one, however when and if they should be separated, The people of Yah must make their alliegance clear. They must make it known that they are the servants of the Most High God first and foremost, and the doctrines and commandments of men, even parents, take second place to the Creator of all existance.

"Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 13:12-13)

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (1 John 5:21)

- Luke