Context No. 2625 of 4322 · Deuteronomy
Context · Reflection
Deuteronomy 5:16-20: in context
16“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 17“You shall not murder. 18“You shall not commit adultery. 19“You shall not steal. 20“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
In the heart of the Ten Commandments come the duties toward our neighbor: honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness. And the first of them carries a promise attached: honor your father and mother, that your days may be long and it may go well with you in the land.
These commandments turn love for God outward, into concrete obligations to actual people, our parents, our neighbor's life, marriage, property, reputation. It is possible to feel devout toward God while quietly failing the plain duties toward the people right in front of us, and these commands will not let us. The one with a promise, honor your father and mother, is worth pausing on, because it is easy to neglect, especially as parents age or as old wounds linger. Honoring them, in whatever season, is tied to a promise of blessing. Love for God that does not reach the people nearest us, beginning with those who raised us, has not gone very far.
Which plain duty to the people nearest me, beginning with honoring my parents, am I neglecting while feeling devout toward God?
Sources
- Deuteronomy 5:16: Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may go well with you.
- Deuteronomy 5:20: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- Mark 12:31: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.