Read
17Don't make fun of your father
or disobey your mother—
crows will peck out your eyes,
and buzzards will eat
the rest of you.
Reflect
We sometimes hear the expression, “the eyes are the mirror of the soul,” the soul, as we understand it, being the seat of our emotions and our reflective capability. It goes without saying that it is often our eyes that transmit to others our true feelings and attitudes. Love or scorn, acceptance or rejection, approval or disapproval, are just some of the messages that are visually communicated to others. Absolutely no need for words or actions to make known our attitude of mind, just one look can say it all!
This is, undoubtedly, the reason why this verse in Proverbs speaks to us about the eyes being “picked out” by ravens. It is quite evident that the attitudes of contempt, insubordination and hatred of authority are communicated to and discerned by the parents through the eyes of their children. The author of Proverbs is clearly not alluding to an occasional rebellion but rather to a persistent and protracted rebellious attitude, that will, inevitably, cause severe problems in family relations.
God speaks to us in his word about the importance of harmony and stability in the family unit and he reminds us of this often in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 5:16) and also in the New (Ephesians 6:2). Unfortunately, this is not what is seen in most homes today. We are, sadly, witnessing a lack of harmony and unity, a breakdown in communications, divergent interests and conflicts, all of which lead, too often, to serious family problems.
But there is a solution for the restoration of harmony to the family, namely, faith in Jesus Christ and his redemptive work on Calvary’s cross. Faith in the Son of God regenerates the person that believes. It gives them a new heart and it leads and enables them to live in respect and submission to Jesus Christ and to one another (Ephesians 5:21).
Respond
Lord Jesus, I thank you for being the solution to the problems of unity for my family, as well as all the families that surround me. I’m asking you to please accomplish your work in me, while at the same time, being the center of my life. I ask this also for those near and dear to me. Amen.
Donald Tardif
Donald has worked as a custom broker and international freight forwarder. His Biblical training was with L’Institut Biblique du Québec. In 2006, he took an early retirement and assumed the leadership of La Ligue pour la lecture de la Bible in Quebec, after having been on the board of directors for a few years. He retired from Laligue pour la lecture de la Bible in 2017. Donald is married to Jeannine and they have 3 adult children and 8 grandchildren.