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Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Proverbs 23:22, ESV

God gave us father and mother as the first authority in our lives. This is one relationship that God places high on His list, and we are reminded often of the cost of a rebellious child and how they should be handled. If a person cannot show respect to their parents, the likelihood of that person respecting another person in authority is low, and the cost to society as a whole is great. Most faiths teach the importance of respecting elders, and those who do not are often outcasts of society. This call of our Lord is not given with conditions, saying that we should do so only for those parents who have earned it. Respect also isn’t permission for abuse by a parent or parents, but one may respect the authority while not agreeing with its use. As we are called to this in life, we are able to see God more clearly and the great care He gives us as His creation, and to know His peace more fully.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.