Fathers deserve respect, but . . .

A couple weeks ago I was honored by my children on Father's Day. I am always very humbled by this honor and have been reflecting upon it throughout these days following.

Further, as part of my meditation upon the Word, I've been making my way through the Lutheran Confessions, the Book of Concord. And recently I found some thoughts by Dr. Luther on the Commandment to honor fathers and mothers. They are worth sharing and meditating upon:

"In connection with this commandment, we must mention the sort of obedience due to superiors, persons whose duty it is to command and to govern. For all other authority is derived and developed out of the authority of parents. Where a father is unable by himself to bring up his child, he calls upon a schoolmaster to teach him; if he is too weak, he seeks the help of his friends and neighbors; if he dies, he confers and delegates his responsibility and authority to others appointed for the purpose. In addition, he has to have servants--menservants and maidservants--under him in order to manage the household. Thus all who are called masters stand in the place of parents and must derive from them their power and authority to govern. They are all called fathers in the Scriptures because in their sphere of authority they have been commissioned as fathers and ought to have fatherly hearts toward their people. Thurs from ancient times the Romans and people speaking other languages called the masters and mistresses of the household patres et matres familias, that is, housefathers and housemothers. Again, their prnces and overlords were called patres patriae, that is, fathers of the whole country, to the great shame of us would-be Christians who do not speak of our rulers in the same way, or at least do not treat and honor them as such," LC:141-142.

A couple points from the above.

1. We owe respect and honor to those who serve as patres patriae, fathers of the whole country. They stand in the place of parents and "derive from them their power and authority to govern." Thus, as we respect and honor our parents, so we owe them the same. This is the first commandment of the second table of the Law of God and with it comes the promise from God that we will live long in the land if we obey it. "In the Scriptures, to have a long life means not merely to grow old, but to have everything that belongs to long life--for example, health, spouse and child, sustenance, peace, good government, etc.--without which this life cannot be enjoyed nor will it long endure," LC:134.

2. However, these same fathers "derive . . . their authority to govern" from parents. I read that to mean that the primary authority and responsibility rests with the parents. We parents cannot turn that responsibility over to the schools, social agencies, government, etc. and then go willy nilly on our way, telling ourselves we've done our duty.

Parents are always responsible for the care and guidance of their children, just as children owe their parents respect and honor. I fear that all too often we parents take too little interest in what is being said and done by those to whom we have delegated responsibility. I speak of teachers, elected government officials and even our church leaders. We have a responsibility to question how they are doing their delegated job. And if they are not, then we must appoint those who will.

This has some grave implications, especially in this nation where we say that government is "of the people and by the people." Those who govern rule by delegated authority, not by divine right. The responsibility for children, home and family still rests with us who are parents and have direct contact with our children. The closer we are to our children, the better this work will be done. The further away those are who are exercising their delegated authority, the less able they are to understand what is needed and to carry out their duties. Needless to say, I am not a fan of big and overpowering government, however it occurs. I invite you to give these matters your most serious consideration.