When we got married everyone called their in-laws "Mom or Dad", it was a way of expressing that our new spouse's family was now ours and we showed the same respect to them that we showed our own parents.
It is a sign of leveling, bringing down the respected position of parents by calling them by their first name. Many people still think it's wrong to call their mother or father by their first name, but will insist on the children calling their grandparents by their first name or in-law parents by their first name.
We now live in a culture in which grandchildren are encouraged to call their grandparents by their first name, such as "Grandma Jane" or "Grandpa Richard". It is offensive to us because it removes the honor and respect that should be there for someone in a position of special recognition.
The old world practice for in-laws, was to call their in-laws either "Dad and Mom" or "Father and Mother" or "Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jones."
The old world practice for grandchildren was to call Grandparents "Grandmother or Grandfather" or "Grandma and Grandpa." Some traditions use other forms of this such as "Mamma and Pappa." The honor and respect remain which ever form we use, first names are far too familiar to lend itself to honor and respect.
Even when we disagreed with our parents or grandparents we never fought or argued with them, we accepted them for who they were, allowing them to be who they were without vengeful consequences.
It all began in the movies, when Hollywood broke down the lines of respect and honor, making people believe that no one was to be treated with any more respect than anyone else. Sadly this has morphed into other forms of dishonor on the part of young people.
I was in a discussion with a young man who thought dressing up was unnecessary and he would not do it for anyone. I explained to him that dressing up was also a sign of respect. There are certain people we show respect to by our clothing, demeanor and what we call them.
In this discussion with the young man I told him that if he were ever to go before the president of the United States, the required dress would be a suit and tie. One doesn't even go onto the house floor in the sessions of government, without a coat and tie. It is considered a sign of respect to look our best when in the company of others who are in authority over us or in a special position of honor.
This young man told me that he would never wear a suit and tie for the president, and then is when I told him that he would not be allowed in his presence without this required clothing. The young man then mocked me, as though I had told him something that was ridiculous.
I felt sad that our children's generation is so arrogant, that it does not understand and even mocks gestures of honor and respect, that have been around for many generations.
Back in the day, even poor folks had one nice outfit that they wore in the presence of others, at church, weddings, funerals, dedications and many other things where sloppiness would have been a sign of disrespect and a distraction.
The things that we were taught in school as respectful and necessary to defer to others are now mocked, demeaned and rejected by those who have been raised in self esteem.
Dressing as a sign of respect is a way of deferring to others, arrogant people refuse to defer to anyone. I believe this is why our culture has degenerated into casual clothing, at least in our region. Everything is about self, deferring to others is unthinkable to those who are full of themselves.
In an effort to break down all barriers to authority, young folks were encouraged to disregard the cultural standards that promoted honor and respect. Now we have young people who treat the older generation as equals, feeling free to mock them, argue with them and even deliberately demean them so as to be elevated above them.
I fear that because of this leveling mentality, the younger generation will see even worse offenses against them by their own children as the society continues down the slippery slide to total anarchy against all authority. When the society as a whole promotes disrespect and the parents go along with it, the children will do in extreme what their parents did moderately.
When we see this happening we can expect that there will be an increase in elder abuse, after all the tenderness and love that accompanied the attitudes of honor and respect, led the younger generation to care for the elderly.
Remembering that they gave them life, raised them, provided for their every need and protected them during the most vulnerable years of their life, they valued their parents.
When these principles are removed, there is nothing to stop the younger folks from treating their parents as though they are a burden to be avoided, set aside and worse yet, put down, the way a master puts down a sickly animal that is no longer useful. If you think this is going too far in exaggeration, remember the abortion issue, when people said that no one would kill their babies all the way through the ninth month, now we have partial birth abortion. All sins leads to greater sin when not repented of.
Babies are being murdered outside the womb who have survived the abortions. And, they think that the dishonor and disrespect for parents and grandparents will not lead to euthanasia? When a culture becomes this callous and disrespectful, it will be taken to it's ultimate and logical extreme.
Back in the day when respect and honor were normal, elderly parents were seen as people with wisdom, there was a desire to care for them as one would care for a delicate and fragile precious antique.
When sin is elevated in the smallest degree it will grow. There is no stopping this sin when it is full blown.
1 Corinthians 5:6-7 " 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened."
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