18-19 “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, 20 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.’ 21 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.” Deuteronomy 21:18-21 English Standard Version

Only 4 verses today, but important ones. How does God view disobedience to one's parents?

It is very, very serious. Notice though that it isn't about tiffs we may have in the home, nor is it a child going through 'teenage years'. It's an 'of age' son who is totally rebellious, rejects all discipline, and has cast off all restraint. Despite discipline and warnings he has become a hardened rebel. Notice too that the judgment wasn't only to rid society of evil – it was intended also to make other wild and rebellious young men think again of how they could end up. It's affect would mean that the next generation would not be misled.

Once again, we must remember that this was in the days when God gave laws to the people He had just rescued out of Egypt, not only to test their obedience, but to keep them from ending up like the nations of the land they were going to settle in. It was more than 1000 years before Jesus would come into the world with the life transforming gospel. Even then, the problem of rebellious children still existed.

Jesus told a story of a rebellious son who demanded his portion of the inheritance before his father had even died, and then squandered it on reckless living. Such sons were still around. Think too of Paul's letter to Christians in Rome of how society was in those days. Having said how homosexuality had become rampant, he also says: “People's lives are full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. (Romans 1:27-31) Disobedience to parents is ranked alongside all those other evil practices.

So is it any better today? Look at what Paul wrote to Timothy. “Know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. People will love only themselves and their money. They'll be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred, be unloving and unforgiving, will slander others and have no self-control. They'll be cruel and hate what is good. They'll betray their friends, be reckless, puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Does that sound familiar as you see the news today? Listening to authority is meant to start in the home. When it doesn't (or when there is no authority in the home, especially because of absent dads) then it often leads to many of the other attitudes and behaviour Paul speaks of.

Of course there can be bad parents too. Some parents may be drunkards themselves and bad role models in every way. But even then, a God fearing son or daughter would want to apply God' word as best they can under their circumstances. The New Testament strikes a balance when it says: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your father and mother. Fathers, don't exasperate (or provoke) your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:1-4)

If you're an old person reading this – are there things you may need to seek God's forgiveness for as you look back on your response to your parents? If you are still a young person, do you honour your parents as best you can? They won't be perfect, just as you won't be perfect if you become a parent one day, but God calls us to give them respect because they are our parents. And if they aren’t Christians, pray for them often that they will become obedient from the heart to the heavenly Father.