A Sincere Eulogy

Daily Devotional – Thursday, October 13, 2022
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12 (NKJV)

In many cultures across the globe, speaking ill of the dead is unacceptable. Now, picture this. A young man is dead. He is a victim of mob justice, after being caught stealing. Family members refuse to mourn him. However, they prepare a funeral for him. The mourners are in for a shock.

A Genuine Tribute

The eulogy goes against the grain. Today, there is no respect for the dead. He was a disobedient boy who persisted in evil and crime despite multiple warnings from his parents. He deserved his death, the tribute concludes.

How vastly different would the man’s story have been if he had obeyed his parents from the onset? God considered obedience to parents so critical that He made it a commandment. He directed, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12).

Paying Honest Homage

Unlike many life stories presented in funerals, the boy’s eulogy was sincere. The verdict was clear. He had disobeyed his parents and his life had been cut short. God is not a liar. What He promises in the Fifth Commandment must come to pass.

The same principle applies in our relationship with God. He is our Father. If we obey Him, we will enjoy longer, healthier and happier lives. The opposite is true. We risk physical and spiritual death when we rebel against our Heavenly Father.

Human beings may write fake tributes about us. God, however, will write a sincere eulogy on each of us. He will reward obedience with a productive earthly life and eternal life as the ultimate reward. Disobedience, in contrast, will receive the just recompense of misery in this life and eternal death hereafter.

God reiterated the principle of the Fifth Commandment at a literal level when He told the Israelites, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.” (Isaiah 1:19-20).

Prayer
Almighty Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may obey You unquestioningly.