Listen to your Parents

Introduction

Proverbs 1:8 “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:”

Proverbs 6:20 “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, And forsake not the law of thy mother:”

Proverbs 23:22 “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.”

Proverbs 4:1 “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding.”

All of these verse have something in common: listening. Listening is important because if you don’t you might just miss out on something. Like if I made an announcement that there was going to be ice cream after the service for all the children, how many of you would show up? Just to test you, there will be a little bit of ice cream for any kid who comes to the cafeteria tonight after the service. Parents don’t help them remember.

Listening is important, but you need to listen to the right people. You ever see the studio C shoulder angel skits where Matt Meece climbs up on someone’s should and pretends to be their conscience speaking and then someone dressed as a devil gets on the other shoulder. Its funny to watch. I don’t think I could hold two adults on my shoulders, but the point is this that there are some people who will tell you things and they aren’t good for you and there are others who will tell you good. Who are you going to listen to?

There is one group of people who you should be able to trust to tell you what is good and right above all others: your parents Your parents have a special relationship with you and they love you. They may say things you don’t like, but they are the only one’s who are going to care enough about you to tell you those things. Friends most of the time don’t want to make you feel bad, so they only tell you what you want to hear, but parents will tell you what you need to hear.

Tonight’s message is called listening to your parents and our main text will be Proverbs 1:8-9 “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck.”

God designed parents to be an authority figure in your life

commandment, law

There are a lot of families today that are broken. Homes without a father or a mother, children living with their grandparents, absent parents and latchkey kids. While sometimes these circumstances couldn’t have been helped, mostly they are the signs of a society that has lost its grounding in God’s design for the home.

God created the world to be populated by families. Mom and dad got married and had children. They then raise those children who in turn might some day get married and have their own families. But God designed children to be under the authority of their parents. We looked at this thought last time from Eph 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”

God uses words like commandment, law to speak about what your parents tell you to do. Those words mean that you are supposed to listen and obey them.

We have a law in America that you can’t steal anything. If you go to the Lego store in Penn Square mall and steal a box of legos, what is going to happen? You are going to get in big trouble and could even be put in jail for stealing. I remember when I was little my mom took me to a pool in North Dakota. The pool had a little gift shop where you could buy things like the most important thing to a kid: candy. I had never seen blow pops before. You guys know what a blow pop is? Well, I snuck on into the pockets of my swim shorts. Later on I started eating that sucker and my mom caught me. Now the guy at the store was nice and all we had to do was pay for the sucker, but I tell you this, I definitely got a spanking that day.

The things that our parents tell us to do are just as serious to God as breaking the law. In fact God’s command to obey our parents was one of the first 10 commandments he gave to Israel and the punishment was serious.

Kid’s you should never say these word’s to your parents, “I don’t have to obey you.” or “who made you the boss of me” The answer is God, so when you parents are telling you something you should listen to what they are saying.

God designed the family to be a place of education

instruction

God also used another word in this verse to describe what your parents are to do for you: instruction. The home is supposed to be like a school and I don’t mean just homeschooling. Parents are to teach you right and wrong, how to live and become an adult. But Christian parents are also trying to teach you to walk with God.

If you are ever going to learn something you have to listen to what you are being taught. Have you ever missed something in school because you were not listening to the teacher?

I remember being in college and taking notes in class. There were times when I was goofing off on my computer instead of listening to the teacher and you know what I missed something important. I missed an answer on the test because I didn’t hear what they were saying. It isn’t that the teacher didn’t try to tell me what I needed to hear, but I wasn’t listening.

There is more that your parents have to teach you than just obedience. Are you listening to what they say about God? Are you listening to what they say about treating people right?

Pay attention to the details of what your parents are trying to tell you. The word instruction is like the instruction manual for something you are putting together. You parents are trying to give you the instructions to put your life together.

Recently, I put two beds together for Bella and Emma. Now what if I did what most men do and threw away the instruction manual. As I put the beds together I don’t know how things are supposed to go together and so I forgot to put the screws on all the legs. Would Pastor Jason do that? What would happen when Bella sat on her bed. It would fall to the ground.

Both Mothers and Fathers have a responsibility to teach you

of thy father and of thy mother

Sometimes families can become so broken that there is a division in the home. Some of the kids love Mom and some of the kids love Dad. Those who love dad only listen to dad and those who love mom only listen to mom. So if dad tells them to take out the trash they ignore him, but they’ll do it if mom says to do it.

Sometimes this can be the result of a lack of respect for one of the parents. And in our broken world sometimes, that parent has earned the respect, but do you remember the other part of Eph 6:2 “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)” We are to honor both our mother and our father. This isn’t necessarily because they deserve it, but because God has commanded it. Kids you need to honor both of your parents. Listen and obey them both.

Did you know this book was written by King Solomon? Solomon was one of the wisest, famous and riches kings in his day. But one day his mother came to visit him. How do you think he treated her? Did he make her wait outside? Did he say mother who are you to tell me what to do? Did he ignore her? No

1 Kings 2:19 “Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.”

Having someone sit on your right hand was a sign of respect and honor. King Solomon honored his mother that day. This job of parenting wasn’t meant to be just a daddy job or just a mother job. It takes both of your parents and they both have different things to teach you.

I can teach my kids things like how to read their bible and pray. How to mow the lawn or drive a car. But their mother teaches them things like how to cook and sew. To be honest their are different spiritual lessons that each parent can teach. I can be very passionate about God and my kids need to learn that, but they also need to learn the gentleness of their mother. God put your parents together and put them in your life because they were the right parents for you.

Your responsibility is to listen to what your parents say.

So here is what God wants you to do: hear and forsake not, listen and obey.

Hear- to listen and accept When your parents tell you something listen to what they have to say. Accept what they say as truth. You do not know everything so do not approach your parents with doubt. Realize they might just know something you do not known.

forsake not- this word carries the idea of throwing something down and leaving it alone, untended. When you parents tell you something, don’t just pay attention, but think about it. Don’t forget it. Try to remember what they told you and do something about it.

The illustration is of a field that has lain unplowed for awhile. The farmer forgot about the field and now it has gotten hard.

When your parents try to teach you something, that should be special. Did you know that there are a lot of families where the parents don’t talk to the kids? God has blessed you with parents that love you enough to try and be involved in your lives. sit there and try to truly learn what it is that they were trying to teach you.

There is a natural reward for listening and obeying your parents

Proverbs 1:9 “For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck.”

crown and necklace Bring one to put on a kid

The implications of this verse are that if you refuse to listen to the advice of your parents, you will be a fool. The fool in proverbs is someone who God punishes, and nothing in his life turns out.

But if you listen to your parents and walk in wisdom, your life is more likely to be blessed.

Many of the problems we face in life are because of bad decisions we made. We lacked the wisdom to make the right decision and now we are bearing the consequence. Even unforeseen circumstances can be the result of a lack of wisdom because we did not have the wisdom to prepare for them. Wisdom in general leads to a life that works. Success, prosperity, honor usually follow those who are wise.

Kids there are people today who don’t know how to be an adult because they were never taught. Having parents that teach you things is a blessing because it prepares you for life. You may not understand why it is that your parents are so particular about making sure you use the right brush stroke when you paint a wall or why they have you do certain things around the house, but when you become an adult you will realize it really was important to learn those things.

If you became a painter but didn’t paint someone’s house correctly, is anyone ever going to hire you to paint? No and because of that you won’t have money and it will be harder to pay the bills. What about taking out the trash? you might feel like it is stupid to have to take out the trash, but imagine when you become an adult and no one takes out your trash. You will become one of those nasty hoarders whose house is filled with left over banana peels, pizza crusts, old newspapers. Do you want to live like that?

Listening to and learning from the lessons you parents teach you is important if you are going to be successful in life.

Conclusion

Kids, this is all I am saying today, God wants you to listen to your parents. Learn from them and obey them. Have you been listening the way your should have?

Parents, I am going to throw in an application for you tonight. One of the reasons we should be diligent about training our children is so that they can be successful in life. Their work ethic, obedience to their bosses, diligence in taking care of themselves and their house, their love for their family and their walk with God will to some extent be shaped by you. Don’t shy away from instructing them.