“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
— 1 Timothy 5:8
There is a cycle to life that we do not like to think about but that the Scripture speaks of clearly. When we came into the world, we were completely dependent. Someone fed us, bathed us, clothed us, held us in the night when we were frightened. That someone gave years of their energy, their money, their sleep, and their heart to the project of raising us. And if God gives them long life, a day comes when the roles reverse. The one who was fed must feed. The one who was held must hold.
Paul says in 1 Timothy that this is not optional for the follower of Jesus. If you have the ability to care for an aging parent and you choose not to, you have denied the faith. Those are strong words. But they reflect a God who takes the vulnerability of the elderly seriously, who places their care squarely on the shoulders of their family first, and who is watching what we do with the people who gave us the world.
I am grateful that my first ten years of life were spent in the home of my grandfather. After my grandmother died, my father, mother, brother, and I moved in with him. And that man, that godly, faithful, quiet man, shaped me in ways I am still discovering. The influence of a grandparent on the life of a grandchild is something the culture has nearly lost and desperately needs to recover. Do not underestimate what a grandfather’s steady faith, or a grandmother’s faithful prayers, can do in the heart of a child who watches them.
If your parents are aging, do not let the busyness of life become a reason for absence. Call. Write. Visit. Make room for them in your schedule and in your conversation. Let your children see how you treat their grandparents, because they are learning from it how they will one day treat you. “Dead noses smell no roses.” Do not wait until they are gone to say what needed to be said.
The commandment does not expire. Honor your father and mother, all the days of their lives, and all the days of yours.
THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE YOU LIFE DESERVE YOUR CARE. DON’T LET BUSYNESS STEAL THEIR BLESSING.
