Being Honored

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12 (NLT)

It was Songkran (Thai New Year) celebration in Bang Saen—the last big day.  Pickup trucks carrying drums full of water had traffic paralyzed on the main roads.  Revelers in these trucks and on the street were throwing water at everyone possible—including themselves.  Even the driver of the van we rode from Bangkok had to take back roads just to arrive somewhere near the van station.

Traffic at a standstill in Bang Saen during Songkran celebrations.  Traffic in the right hand lanes is supposed tobe going the other way.

To stay dry and to keep our faces from being plastered with clay, we were walking the back way from where our van dropped us off to our guest house.  (We would have used public transportation, but it wasn’t running due to the traffic situation.)

Children preparing to throw water at us during Songkran celebrations.

One route we had hoped to take was pretty much clogged with partiers, so we decided to back-track half a mile to take a different route.  The hot afternoon sun beat down on us and we were getting weary.  Suddenly, a group of boys came running toward us bearing cups of water.

We were prepared to get doused.  But, instead, the boys had us hold out our hands while the gently poured water over them in a Songkran tradition of honoring elders.  (It is this tradition that has morphed into the present-day water-throwing festivities.)

The water was icy-cold.  Truth-be-told, I would have appreciated it if the boys had dumped this water on our head.  But amidst all the drunken revelry of the New Years celebration, we were honored as elders.  And indeed, we felt honored and blessed by the actions of these children.

Ingrid showing honor to an elder at Wattana church by pouring scented water over her hands.

In Thailand, many people feel that the old Songkran traditions are getting lost and replaced with wild parties and festivities—much like the traditional Christmas in the west has become lost in the hype and materialism of our present-day celebrations.

The Bible tells us to honor our parents.  This commandment seems like an odd one, stuck between the first four commandments about loving God and the last five about loving our neighbor.  Paul calls this the first “commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2).  Clearly, honoring parents has high value to God.

We in America seem to have lost this concept of honoring our parents and elders a long time ago.  Age is seen as an enemy.  Youth and looking young are worshipped.  Old people are sent to homes where they are often forgotten.

This week, an older person, whom I respected very much, went to be with Jesus.  Harold was a gentle, humble man who loved the Lord.  His wife, Marianna, continues to faithfully serve and follow Jesus.  They had recently celebrated their 66th anniversary.  These are two people who deserve to be honored by having water poured over their hands.

Thank you Jesus, for sending people our way to remind us of something that is important to you.