It's Not About Gifts and Cards

Honor and respecting parents has nothing to do with birthday gifts and cards.

When we honor our parents we are careful not to argue, fight or rage at them just because we may disagree about something.

It is dishonoring to parents to act as though you know more than they do, after all, they are the ones who changed your diapers as well as every other need you had as you were growing up. Of course there were exceptions to this, there have been evil parents, but even then, we are never to treat them with contempt.

Contrary to popular opinion, parents are not stupid, in fact the one who treats their parents as though they are, are wicked and possibly assigning stupidity to their parents when it really belongs to them.

Wise children see the value of their parents, even taking seriously any correction or instruction their parents might have. Adult children do not have to "obey" their parents but according to God they must listen with interest and consider what is being said.

Children who devalue parents as under them, are displaying contempt and rebellion against God.

Anyone who validates an adult child who disrespects his parent through arrogance and arguing, is validating the disobedient one.

Our culture no longer follows the laws of the OT, however those laws show us just how serious rebellion and haughtiness against parents is to God.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

And, we can see from the chaotic nature of our culture, that rebellion is on the rise as parents place the commands of their children above the commands of themselves and of God.