Parents be Forewarned...Treat Your Children Well!

Our Happy Family
Originally uploaded by Mwesigwa

There was a sad story shown on Television Jamaica, last night..of an elderly man, who is an amputee, whose children returned him to the hospital (in a very degrading way) where he had been a patient for the past three (3) years.

They left him on the walkway, just outside the hospital gates, in just his pampers. The hospital workers saw his dilemma, put him in a hospital gown and wheelchair and carried him back into the hospital.

What's sad is that his children claim they couldn't look after him, as they were already taking care of their elderly mother (his wife).

(This man has fourteen children. One of the children involved in the incident is a hospital worker at another hospital and another is a Pastor).

Now many people who witnessed the incident were and are angry and distressed over what the children did.

They said that God says we must honour our parents, so that we may live long life (Deuteronomy 5:16, Ephesians 6:1-3)...now this is true and very scriptural...

But I'm going to offer a different side to this story.

The elderly man, whilst being interviewed, said that he had worked hard for his children. That he had turned down opportunities to live and remarry abroad, just so that he could look after them.

...He had worked on ships and had done odd jobs to support his family.

But he also said something that got my attention...he said he was a rude boy and implied that because of this, he's now in the state that he's in...

I'm not sure what he meant, but in the context, it could have meant he was a "village ram"... a man who has wanton sex with as many women as possible, not caring who he impregnates...just to satisfy himself.

Or it could be that during his youth, he did bad things to people.

Whichever way, he is living proof that you will be rewarded for the kind of life you live.

It may seem cruel, but I want our friends to understand this plainly.

The Bible tells us that "what you sow, you will reap" (Job 4:8, Galations 6:7-8) and to "do to others as you'd have them do to you (Luke 6:31)."

...Meaning you will be rewarded or punished for the treatment you mete out to other people...and that we should treat others in the way we wish to be treated.

God is not slight when He makes statements...

He knows that the quality of our lives is very much influenced by the choices we make and made, when we were younger.

It could be that due to this man's "badness", his children lost respect for him a long time ago.

...Maybe his "badness" caused his family grief.

Maybe they haven't forgiven him for the grief he caused.

Just think...why would a person live in a hospital for three (3) years...why couldn't he go home?

Although he says his children abroad support him...he was not supported by his Jamaican children.

It is sad, yes, but it also proves God's word to be correct...if you sow despair, meaning, you cause people grief...you will be grieved.

As mentioned in previous posts, when God judges you for wrong behaviour...it doesn't stop at you...He judges you up to four generations in front of you (Numbers 14:18).

I'm going to extend this elderly man's case a bit further, where my previous statement is concerned:

When this elderly man's grandchildren see how their parents treat (treated) their grandfather...they will lose respect for their parents.

This disrespect will be carried over to this elderly man's great grandhcildren, who will keep blaming their parents for lack of respect to their grandparents...and to his great great grandchildren, and so on.

Hence this man's "reward" for "badness" will be carried through to his fourth generation of children.

I'm going to say the following to our friends who are parents...

Please live Godly lives in front of your children...do not ill-treat your children...

God did not give you children for you to abuse them mentally, emotionally or physically...

He loan them to you, for you to take care of, love and protect, so that through your good family life, you will honour Him.

If you ill-treat your children, when you get old...they will desert you.

(There are very few children who will stick by you when you have done them wrong, so as to honour God.

Many will just wash their hands from off of you).

In like manner, children treat your parents well, honour them and love them, for God has promised you a good and long life when you do (Deuteronomy 5:16, Ephesians 6:1-3).

...Even if your parents ill-treated you, children, treat them well...because this right behaviour, pleases God.

Remember that when you have children, they will watch how you treat your parents...

The treatment you mete out to your parents, will be meted out to you.

Nuff said. (Jamaican, meaning, enough has been said).

(I would like to thank Mwesigwa  for the use of his Flickr inset photo above, of a happy family).

Gillian

Sources Include

1) Television Jamaica, July 19,2009

2) Scripture References from BibleGateway.com