Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 20:20 ESV

²⁰ If one curses his father or his mother,
his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

The parent-child relationship is one of repeated concern in Proverbs. It is one of the Ten Commandments and it is graphically illustrated in the Law. (Deuteronomy 21:18-21) It is reviewed in the New Testament and noted to be the only commandment with a promise.

Proverbs 20:20 speaks of an act of such a heinous nature it is only exceeded in wickedness by the murder of ones parents. Striking either parent is in the same category as the murder mentioned.

The result of the deed is an end without hope. The “utter darkness” spoken of here is to describe the worst end to be visited upon someone. It is to be in absolute separation from man and God. As God is light, to be in “utter darkness” is to be without the presence of God. The darkness experienced by Egypt in the ninth plague illustrates this but does not reach to the punishment promised in our study.

What does this mean for parents? However lenient parents may be toward their children, they must draw the line on the manner in which their children address them. They must demand respect from their children. And under no condition should a child- no matter how young - be allowed to strike his parents.