ASSISTING WITH MATERIAL NEEDS

Might honoring one's parents also involve caring for their material needs? Yes, it often does. In Jesus' day the Jewish religious leaders upheld the tradition that if a person declared that his money or property was "a gift  dedicated to God," he was freed from the responsibility to use it to care for his parents. (Matthew 15:3-6) How callous!  In effect, those religious leaders were encouraging people not to honor their parents but to treat them with contempt by selfishly denying their needs. Never do we want to do that! -Deuteronomy 27:16. 

In many lands today, government supported social programs provide for some of the material needs of the elderly, such as food, clothing, and shelter.  In addition to that, the elderly themselves may have been  able to make some provision for their old age.  But if these provisions run out or prove inadequate, children honor their parents by doing what they can to meet parental needs. In fact, caring for aged parents is an evidence of godly devotion, that is, one's devotion to Jehovah God, the Originator of the family arrangement.  

Next time: LOVE AND SELF-SACRIFICE

From the book: THE SECRET OF FAMILY HAPPINESS, 1996