Who does not want a long life? I have yet to meet person who is not concerned for his health that will determine if he will have long life or not. Most of the people of my age are concerned with how high their blood cholesterol is, or their blood uric acid or if they have hypertension. The truth of the matter is that life today is not the same as the lives lived by out fathers. Yes, just a generation ago.
The food we eat today is not the same. Even the water we drink and the air we breath is polluted. How can we have long life in this day and age? Rely on food supplements? Organic food? Breathe pure oxygen (no don’t do that, it will drive you crazy)?
I believe one can still have long life in this generation because of one reason: the Bible tells us so. If you believe in the Bible as the Word of God and that God does not lie, then you can heave a sigh of relief.
In the following days, I will be posting a series of scripture that promises the believer with long life. Here is the first:
HONOR YOUR PARENTS
Exodus 20:12 says this, “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” This is part of the 10 commandments that the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, gave to the Israelites as they were camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Their leader, Moses, just led the whole nation of Israel out of captivity from Egypt.
This commandment is the fifth in the series, right after the commands relating to the Israelites’ relationship with God and just before the commandments in relation to how they treat their fellow men. Honoring one’s parents seemed to be of utmost importance that God has to include them here. It must be! How else can man honor and love God if they cannot do the same to their earthly parents?
That is why this commandment held a promise: long life. If we do what it says, God says that you will live a long life. Were these commands particular only to the Israelites or are they universal? I believe the latter. It applies to everybody, especially to people who believe in the God of Israel.
Honoring our parents is sacred to God! In fact dishonoring parents requires the capital punishment meted to the offender. You can read these in Exodus 21:15, Deuteronomy 21:18-21, where the command is to stone the person who dishonors his parents.
This same command is reiterated in Ephesians 6:1-3, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.
So, aside from eating a healthy diet, exercising and staying away from smoking and drinking , you need to ensure that you are honoring your parents. Do it now. Call them up. Forgive them if they have sinned against you. Ask for forgiveness if you have sinned against them and you can be sure of God’s promise.
