PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 383: DO YOU WANT TO LIVE A LONG LIFE? Part 4
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 383: DO YOU WANT TO LIVE A LONG LIFE? Part 4
There are 12 Scriptures in the Bible that give God’s judgment upon those who lightly esteem or treat their parents triflingly or insignificantly with looks or gestures. It is time for our society to come back to giving honor to parents and honor to where honor is due. It is a serious matter in God’s eyes.
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to the Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies, a magazine bringing strength and encouragement to families across the world.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! I want to continue talking today about ways in which we can honor our parents, especially parents who are now grandparents, so you can be an example of how to show honor to parents to your children. I used to love to think of ways, when my parents were alive, to involve them in our lives.
But even since they have passed away, I have wanted to do things that would keep them alive in the hearts of our children, and then, of course, our grandchildren. And then, there are the great-grandchildren coming on. Some of our grandchildren knew our parents well. Some of the younger ones didn’t. Now, of course, the great-grandies don’t know them. But how can I keep them alive in their hearts?
So, I had this wonderful book of memories which I’m so glad that I did. My father was able to see it before he passed away. But since they’ve passed away, I remember having a night, REMEMBERING GRANDPARENTS NIGHT. I got all the family together, and also my niece and her children, who live here in the States also, just to remember them. It was a wonderful night.
Of course, we all bring a plateand have fellowship. And then, we had people, the ones who knew them, to get up and tell stories about them. We talked about my father. Their granddad had lots of the funniest sayings. I have got them all recorded, about three or four pages of all the sayings that he had. They know lots of them.
A GOOD MAN’S NEVER STUCK
There’s one specifically that has come down the generations. It actually came from my grandfather. He used to say, “A good man’s never stuck!” If they faced any challenge, they would never give up. They would just say, “A good man’s never stuck!” And they would stick it out until they’d worked it out.
My father was often saying that statement, “A good man’s never stuck!” It just caught on, and of course, we would constantly say it as our children were growing up. When they faced a challenge, well, we’d say Granddad’s statement, “A good man’s never stuck!” And so, it got ground into them. It became part of their lives. I don’t think there’s one grandchild who doesn’t know that phrase, “A good man’s never stuck!”
Now Arden, my grandson who is doing this UNDEFEATED MANHOOD, some of you may be familiar with it. I talked about it in our last Above Rubies, 102. The slogan he has for Undefeated Manhood, of course is, “A good man’s never stuck!”
Anyway, we had this wonderful Remembering our Grandparents Night. And then . . . I want to do another one soon. It’s on my heart because when I went back to New Zealand just before Christmas last year, I was able to bring back with me a whole lot of my mother’s beautiful, oh, just so amazing, clothes that she had sewn herself. They weren’t just ordinary dresses. They were so unbelievably amazing.
I thought they had all gone, but I found my sister-in-law had saved them. It was so exciting to know. I want to have a mannequin parade so they can show off these beautiful dresses and another night to bring back all the old memories.
A couple of times, I’ve had a luncheon to remember my mother, Nana. I remember one that I had with my daughters, and my nieces, and my sister. We all sat around. We had a beautiful lunch. We all made the things of course that Nana loved. We made muffins. She was known for her great bran muffins, and her date scones, and her vegetable soups. So, we sat around, eating her food and remembering her. It was a beautiful time.
Another time, I had a luncheon just for my daughters and my grandchildren who have now grown quite a lot since then. It’s time I had another one, because there are all these new ones coming on, and I’ve got to keep these memories alive.
But this time, we had a luncheon again and told memories of Nana. I read the beautiful story that Pearl had written when she was young, “More Than Toast, and Pots, and Pans.” We were all crying, all my daughters, and even the little grandchildren. They were beautiful memories. You can think of things like that to do. You’ll think of even more wonderful things to do, but do think of them, OK?
THREE GENERATIONS INVOLVED WITH PREGNANT MOTHER
A couple of other thoughts. Yes, now just think of this, ladies. When you are pregnant, when you conceive a baby, it’s not just you, but there are three generations involved. You, the pregnant mother; your precious baby that is growing in your womb, the next generation; and a third generation for in your daughter’s womb there are all the eggs, well, in that embryo, there are already all the eggs that she will have to bring forth children.
Science tells us this. So, in reality, there are three generations involved when you are pregnant (with a daughter). That is the tie, the close tie, of grandmother, mother, child, or you could say, mother, child, and then granddaughter. So, it is very, very powerful.
One other thought before we move one, Numbers 30. In Numbers 30 we see the authority that God gives to parents. Here, starting with Numbers 30:3: “If a young woman, who is still living in her father’s house, makes a vow to the Lord, or places herself under an obligation, and her father hears of her vow, or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about it, then all her vows will stand. Every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand.
“But if her father overrules her when he hears about it, then none of her vows or obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release her from it, because her father overruled it.”
Very powerful. It shows the authority, but also the protection that a father has over his daughter. Maybe he realizes, even though the daughter is full of passion about something, that really, this vow, this obligation, would not be the best for her. So, he has the power to release her from it. That is the power of fatherhood, and it shows, also, the honor that should be given to the father.
Then we carry on: “If she marries a husband while under a vow, or she utters anything impulsively, by which she has pledged herself, and her husband hears about it, but remains silent about her when he hears about it, then her vows will stand, and her obligations, which she has pledged for herself, will stand. Because if you vow, you’d better keep to it. However, if, when her husband hears it, he overrules it, then he will nullify the vow she has taken. Whatever she uttered impulsively, which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.” This shows the beautiful covering that God has over women. Daughters in their father’s household, and then a wife in her husband’s home.
All right. Let’s carry on now. We’re up to NUMBER FIVE of the ten mandates of our attitudes towards parents. We are still continuing this scripturally about NEVER BELITTLE YOUR PARENTS. Which Scripture am I up to here?
Oh yes, Deuteronomy 27:16: “Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
The words “setteth light” are the Hebrew word, qala, Q-A-L-A. Two podcasts ago, I spoke about a similar Hebrew word, qalal, Q-A-L-A-L, which means “to make insignificant, to lightly esteem.” Now this word is a different Hebrew word, but very similar meaning. It means “to lightly esteem, to treat with disdain or lack of due respect, to make of small worth, to treat triflingly, insignificantly, to dishonor, to despise with looks and gestures, treat with contempt, treat shamefully.”
Lovely ladies, do you tremble at the words of God? Wow! I often tremble when I’m reading the Word. It’s what we’re meant to do. What does it say in Isaiah 66:2? “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my words.” I tremble when I read those words.
Often, when we read the Bible, we don’t even know what it’s really saying unless we know the full extent of the Hebrew words. This is showing that to treat triflingly, insignificantly, to despise with a look or a gesture . . . Oh, God looks upon this with seriousness, dear ladies.
I read an example of this just the other day, and I never noticed this before, but it was a prophetic word about Jesus going to the cross in Isaiah 50:6. Jesus speaking: “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Jesus faced that at the cross. He faced the shame, He faced the spitting, He faced the disdain. But it says here that He did not turn His face or hide from it.
And yet, I have seen some young people hide their face from their mothers, or their fathers, just because they didn’t want to look at them. Their father or their mother certainly was not spitting at them and pulling the hairs out of their cheeks. No, they just didn’t want to have anything to do with them, and they turned their face away. Help! Jesus didn’t even do that to those who were spitting on Him. How could a young person do this to a mother, or even a father, who loves them?
Proverbs 15:20: “A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish man despiseth his mother.” The Hebrew word for “despise” is bazah, and it means, “to regard with contempt, as worthless, to disdain, to scorn.” We see this happening a lot today. Young people scorning their parents, looking at them with disdain. Oh, these are serious things in the eyes of God.
Proverbs 23:22: “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.” The word for “despise not” is buz and means, “to despise, hold as insignificant.” Do you notice that all these Hebrew meanings bring out the idea to look at them insignificantly? It’s very powerful.
Proverbs 19:26, 27: “He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.” To “waste away” is to destroy and devastate. The word for “chase away,” to chase away a mother, is barach, and it means “to chase or drive away, to put to flight.”
I noticed some other translations of this Scripture, which are very powerful.
The New Living Translation: “Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are an embarrassment, and a public disgrace.”
The Holman Translation: “The one who assaults his father and evicts his mother is a disgraceful and shameful son.”
Proverbs 28:24: “Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.” The Hebrew word, we’ve got to look at these Hebrew words, ladies. The Hebrew word for “rob” is gazal, meaning “to tear away, to take away by force, to rob, the one who claims for himself the goods of another by injustice.”
The New English Translation Commentary states on this Scripture: “While the expression is general enough to cover any kind of robbery, the point seems to be that because it can be rationalized, it may refer to prematurely trying to gain control of the family property through some form of pressure, and in the process, reducing the parents’ possessions and standing in the community. The culprit could claim what he does is not wrong because the estate would be his anyway, but God sees it as a transgression.”
The King James also translates “rob” in other Scripture with these words: “Cast out, drive out, rush out.” The same word is used for divorcing a woman, so when a woman is cast out of her home, it’s like divorcing her.
The New Living Translation says: “Anyone who steals from his father and mother and says, ‘What’s wrong with that?’ is no better than a murderer.”
The Knox Translation: “Shall he who robs father or mother make light of it? He is next door to a murderer.”
Good News Translation: “Anyone who thinks it isn’t wrong to steal from his parents is no better than a common thief.”
Proverbs 30:17: “The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pluck it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.” Wow! That is so powerful! The word “mock” means “to deride, to ridicule, to scorn.” Did you know that even to raise the eyebrows in disdain is implied in this word “mock”? We must beware of every belittling or negative word towards parents, and all older people. Wow! Ladies, did you know that all those Scriptures were in the Word of God? And they are very powerful.
NUMBER SIX. NEVER BRING GRIEF TO YOUR PARENTS
I’ll read the Scriptures on the next few points, ladies, I have lots of Scriptures. Now, you know that when I’m looking up something on a subject, I just have to find every Scripture there is in the Bible about it. I always want to know every one so I don’t miss out. However, I won’t read them all to you, but I will put them in the transcript (at the end) for those who are Bereans.
Now, you know what a Berean is, don’t you? The Bereans were those who searched the Word daily to see if those things were so (Acts 17:11). They weren’t content with just listening to somebody. They had to check it out.
All right. NEVER BRING GRIEF TO YOUR PARENTS.
Proverbs 10:1: “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
Proverbs 17:25: “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.”
Proverbs 23:24-25: “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begets a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.” God delights in children bringing blessing and joy and honor to their parents.
NUMBER SEVEN. LISTEN TO THE INSTRUCTION OF YOUR PARENTS
Wow! God is very, very concerned about this. Why is He concerned about this? Because God has commanded parents to teach children His commands, so we are standing in the place of God to teach our children. And so, if our children do not listen to us, they are not listening to God. It’s as simple as that.
It is a very important point. Children must listen to the instruction of their parents. Now we see this, of course, and you know, especially all you homeschoolers, Deuteronomy 6 and Deuteronomy 11. You know those Scriptures by heart, don’t you?
Let’s go to Proverbs 1:7-9: “Fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law (or the teaching) of thy mother: for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.”
Go to Proverbs 6:20-24: “My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law (or it means “the teaching”) 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. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”
So here, God wants children to listen to their father and their mother. It talks about this teaching of the mother and how her teaching will be that which guides her children throughout life. It says her teaching will lead them. It will keep them. It will talk to them, even when they’re sleeping. Oh, dear precious mothers, your teaching, and what you input into your children is so powerful.
Just this morning, I received an email from a very precious mother. She loves motherhood, but she was saying how she felt that she wasn’t using all her talents like women who are out in the careers. She was just home, mothering and teaching her children.
Well, I had to encourage her, oh, that she was using her talents, in fact, to raise children, to teach children. To raise up a family takes all the talents that God has given you. There’s hardly one talent you won’t use, and that you don’t need in the training of your children.
And teaching children. Some mothers think, “Oh, I could never homeschool. I couldn’t teach my children!” Yes, you can! God created you and anointed you to teach your children. A mother begins teaching her children from the moment they’re born. She’s the one who teaches them everything, until they are even four or five years of age, before they go to committed schooling. She taught them so much of life! We naturally teach.
Just be encouraged, encouraged. That which God gives you, the convictions God has put in your heart, you impart them to your children. You are a teacher, and your teaching is powerful. Your teaching is life. It is that which will guide and lead your children, not only now, but as they grow, and as they go through life.
All right; we go down to Proverbs 31:1. This is the “above rubies” chapter. It was actually written by a woman to her son. It says in verse one: “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.” There are some commentaries who say that it could have been Bathsheba who was teaching her son Solomon, who was the wisest man in the whole of the earth. So, we don’t know for sure, but some commentaries do say that. But Proverbs 31 is a prophetic word from an older mother. Our teaching is powerful.
Isaiah 38:19: “The father to the children shall make known Thy truth.”
NUMBER EIGHT. DO NOT DESPISE THE DISCIPLINE OF YOUR PARENTS
Well, there are so many Scriptures about this. I will put them for you in the transcript. Here’s a few.
Proverbs 3:12: “For whom the Lord loveth, He correcteth, even as a father the son, in whom he delights.”
Proverbs 22:15: “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
Proverbs 29:15: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”
Proverbs 29:17: “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest. Yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” What a wonderful Scripture! There are many mothers today who believe in what is called “gentle parenting.” In fact, there are many kinds of parenting these days. We rarely read about “biblical parenting.” There are so many other kinds of parenting these days, but really, the only parenting that truly works is biblical parenting.
Everything that we do in life, we have to get back to the Word of God, and what God says is right, no matter what you think! Goodness, think of all the things you want to think but God’s Word is right! It’s pure. It’s been tried in the furnace seven times. It is eternal. It works for every generation.
I love this Scripture: “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest. Yes! He shall give delight unto thy soul.” There are some mothers who only have one or two children, and help! They don’t want any more! They couldn’t stand it! Because these children are so difficult to manage. Help!
It’s not a delight to have children who are out of control, who are disobedient, who are always whining, and who are always wanting something. No, we have to discipline our children, so they learn what is right. And we’re not going to stand for behavior that is not correct. When we establish those boundaries, well then, we’re going to have rest.
Oh goodness me, it’s such a delight when you have children who are obedient, and they know their boundaries, and they fit in them. THEN YOU CAN HAVE FUN! LOVE LIFE! HAVE FUN! HAVE ADVENTURES! GO ANYWHERE AND DO ANYTHING with your children, because you know you can. You know they’ll do what you say. You’re not going to be tearing your hair out! No!
OK. Time is going on, so we’d better finish.
NUMBER NINE. PROVIDE FOR YOUR PARENTS WHEN THEY ARE OLDER
This is also mandated in the Word of God. Matthew 15:4-8: “But you say, even if your parents are in need, you may give their support money to the church instead. And so, by your manmade rules, you nullify the direct command of God to honor and care for your parents. You hypocrites!” Wow. Isn’t the Word of God powerful, ladies? It tells us straight. Yes.
And you all know 1 Timothy 5:3-8 (MLB) where it says whoever who does not provide for his home, his household, that he is worse than an infidel. Let’s read this translation: “If any widow has children, or grandchildren, let them first learn to practice religion at home, and so to make recompense to those who nurtured them, for so it is acceptable in God’s sight. Whoever does not provide for his dependents, and especially for his own family has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.”
The Holman Translation says that: “If any widow had children or grandchildren, they must learn to practice godliness toward their own family first, and to repay their parents, for this pleases God.” The Word of God shows that it’s the responsibility of children (or if they’ve passed away, grandchildren) to care for their aging parents. And especially those who are on their own, especially widows who are 60 years of age and older.
I love this beautiful example of Joseph in Genesis 45. You remember how Joseph, after he revealed himself to his brothers, the first thing he said was, “Go home to my father. Tell him I’m alive and bring him back! I want him here! I’m going to look after him here.”
He says, here it is in the Word: “Go up to my father, and say unto him, thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me. You and your children, and your children’s children, and your flocks and your herds, and all that thou hast, and there I will nourish thee.”
In Genesis 47, it tells us: “And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and give them the possession in the BEST of the land.” Do you notice that? He didn’t give his father and his family just, oh, something that would be OK for them. No, he found THE VERY BEST for them, in the best of the land. “And Joseph nourished his father and his family, and all his father’s household with food, according to their families.”
Isaiah 58:7-8 (NET): “I want you to share your food with the hungry, and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe them.
Do not turn your back on your own flesh and blood.
Then your light will shine like the sunlight. Your restoration will quickly arrive. Your godly behavior will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.”
And the last point, we’ve got to finish today, ladies!
NUMBER TEN. SCRIPTURES FOR OLDER PARENTS AND ELDERS
I’ll just give you a few here and put the rest in the transcript.
Leviticus 19:32: “Stand up before the gray-haired person. Honor the face of the aged and revere your God. I am the Lord.”
When we honor older people, that shows we are fearing God. If we do not show honor, what does the Bible say? When a gray-haired person comes into the room, stand up before him to show honor. Are you teaching your children to do that, dear mother? Let’s teach honor.
1 Timothy 5:1-2: “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, the elder women as mothers.”
1 Timothy 5:17: “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the Word and doctrine.”
1 Peter 5:5: “Likewise, younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.”
And one more, Hebrews 13:7: “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their manner of life.”
So, precious ladies, we’ve talked about ten mandates God gives about our parents and older people. It’s all about honoring. Never treating lightly. Never treating insignificantly. Never treating triflingly but giving weighty honor.
I think we need to all pray that God will teach us how to show honor. Ask the Lord. Ask Him to show you in your family how you can bring back honor. And even as you do it to your parents, you’ll be showing your precious children how they can honor you, because God’s blessing is on us when we honor.
When we treat insignificantly, we do not have the blessing of God.
“Dear Father, once again, we’ve looked into Your Word. Oh, Father, help us to truly hear, to hear the words that You are saying to us. We pray, Lord God, for revival of honor to come back into this nation, to come back to families, to come back to showing it to parents and to grandparents, and to great-grandparents, and to older people in our society. Lord God, we ask that You will help us in this. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
FURTHER SCRIPTURES:
NUMBER SIX: NEVER BRING GRIEF TO YOUR PARENTS
Proverbs 17:21; 19:13; and Deuteronomy 21:1-21.
NUMBER SEVEN: LISTEN TO THE INSTSRUCTION OF YOR PARENTS
Deuteronomy 6:7-9; 11:19-21; Proverbs 4:1; 8:32, 33; 9:9; 1:8, 17; 12:1, 15; 13:1, 18; 15:5, 10, 31, 32; 17:10; 19:20; 21:11; 23:12, 19, 22; and 29:3.
NUMBER EIGHT: DO NOT DESPISE THE DISCIPINE OF YOUR PARENTS
Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 23:13, 14; and Hebrews 12:6-11.
NUMBER TEN: GOD’S WOD FOR OLDER PARENTS AND ELDERS
Job 12:12, 13; Proverbs 3:27; and 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13.
You can read all the Scriptures of the ten points in the following document. Go to the link:
https://tinyurl.com/HonorYourParents
You can also send this link to others.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Transcribed by Darlene Norris
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