My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
Proverbs 6:20-22 KJV
We are instructed by the Lord to bind the commandments of our father and the law of our mother to our hearts; to tie them around our necks. The Lord’s instruction is always sound and will benefit us.
- The Lord is good; His instructions are good.
- The Lord is truth; His instructions are truth.
- The Lord is full of loving kindness; His instructions are given kindly.
- The Lord is longsuffering; His instructions are given patiently.
And God knows that if we cling to the instruction and guidance of godly parents, they will guide us everywhere we go, and that will keep us safe.
Obedience to the Lord starts with obedience to one’s parents. Colossians 3:20 says, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” Yet, your obedience to your parents actually begins with their obedience to the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:5 is addressing adults when it says, “…thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
When godly parents who love the Lord train up their children to love the Lord (Proverbs 22:6), then as the youngsters move into adulthood, they will keep their father’s commandment and honor the instructions of their mother.
But what if you were raised by parents who didn’t love and obey the Lord, so you weren’t taught the things of God in childhood. It’s never too late to learn to love God or to start training your children to honor Him by their lives.
Titus 2:3-5 instructs the aged women, who are holy and teachers of good things, to “teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, to obey their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Any young woman in the church should be able to find a godly role model in an older woman who is willing to teach and instruct her in the ways of the Lord. That is why faithful Sunday school attendance is crucial.
If your parents neglected the diligent spiritual training that God wanted you to have, all is not lost. It is never too late to start obeying the Lord; to turn to Him for the guidance and wisdom you need. He will bring people into your life who will teach you the things He wants you to know; those things you may not have learned in your childhood.
And when He does, keep thy Father’s commandment, and listen to the godly instruction of those God sent to teach you: “Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”