Kavod--The Hebrew Word For Honor

11/28/11   Kavod-honor

Honor means to give respect due.  Just this morning I was thinking about what it means to honor thy father and mother and how difficult it could be for my kids should my cognitive abilities continue to decline.  I remember how I felt when I visited my father in the hospital after one of his alcoholic binges.  He looked like a homeless waif that someone had picked up from the street.  That proud, highly intelligent man that I had grown up with, experiencing a discomfiting mixture of fear and admiration,  now lay in a hospital bed, suffering from dts and helpless as a little child.   The conflict it causes us to suddenly or even gradually change our roles from that of a child looking up to his parent to that of caregiver to that same parent.  From that of student, listening, learning and seeking advice to overseer to the daily affairs in the life of that aging parent. 

God makes a big deal about honoring thy father and mother.  So big that it 
is one of the Ten Commandments.  I believe it is because He knows that it will not be easy during the autumn years.  It is good to get into the habit of giving honor to them while they are still young.  It will make it easier later on.

KAVOD-----the Hebrew word for honor.  When we honor our parents, we honor our God.