From the Apostle's Pen

Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother

By Apostle Joseph Hobbs, Th.D.
Deut 5:16

Deut 5:16


Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (KJV)


"My father was a kingdom seeker. He believed that the mere act of seeking the kingdom brought all things unto you." -Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.


Greetings and Salutations to all of our fathers on this very special day in the life of the family of God. I say special because I truly believe that the fathers and mothers who make the sacrifices to raise children in the present social climate are deserving of our honor and our encouragement.


I believe that socially, morally, and spiritually there is an attempt by the larger society to dismantle the family as God created it to be from the beginning. Therefore, we must strive with all that is within us to teach and model to the best of our ability the principles sustained by the God of eternity in His Word. Without a doubt all of us have failed in some way or another to give to the next generation the tools that are required to live the abundant life that God speaks of in the Word. But, the beautiful thing is that we still have time. We must return to the biblical mandate to 'train up our children in the ways of the Lord.'


One of the things that we can do at the present that will not require money, extreme effort, or intense strategy is to honor one another. The truth is that many of our children are learning disrespect and dishonor by the lack of honor and respect they see in their elders whether male or female. Honor and respect are not so much taught as they are modeled in everyday living.

The purpose of God through his church is to establish a kingdom in which all of his subject people are honored, strengthened, equipped, and challenged to rule the earth like the heavenly Father above. There is much that we can do to raise the level of consciousness within the church. We honor fathers today for yours is a role of importance in transmitting values, vision, and virtues to the next generation.