“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee” Exodus 20:12

It is neither God’s will nor his plan for parents to bury their children, whom, depending on the versions, Psalms 127:3 considers as gift, blessing or heritage of the Lord! The Lord’s utmost desire is not only that marriages should be blessed with children, but that children should live long enough to fulfil their destiny and take good care of their parents in their old days.

However, longevity, according to Exodus 20:12, is conditional. Indeed, children, without consideration of age, social positions and ideologic or religious opinions, need to first meet the condition of honoring their parents. By reason of doing that, they de facto commit God to blessing them with long days as He did for Abraham (Gen. 25:8), Isaac (Gen. 35: 29), David (1 Chron. 23: 1), Jehoiada (2 Chron. 24: 15) and Job (Job 42:17) who died in good or ripe old age, full or days. You too can enjoy the same if you are willing to.

Do you honor your parents or do you take pretext of your education and your social position to look down on them? When was the last time you paid a visit to them or at least gave them a call? Do you attend to their needs on a consistent basis or do you delegate these to your other sisters and brothers? When a person takes care of his parents, it might look like (s)he is paying back what (s)he enjoyed from his parents. But that behavior goes far beyond: it is actually as if that person goes into a dedicated shop and is buying days. It is a fact that prayer does wonders; but some prayers without appropriate actions will still lack potency to take you to your promised land if you fail to consistently honor and take good care of your parents.

What benefit will it be for a (wo)man if their parents, lacking all, lift their eyes and voice to heavens saying: “Oh Lord, look at how I’m suffering, left to myself, all alone, having children as if I had none!” Imagine God being moved by that complaint! Will you, as a child, expect any blessing from Him, any answer to your prayers? “Don’t go to Sokoto looking for things that are in your “chocoto””, says a Nigerian proverb. Longevity is closer and easier than you ever think. Earn days honoring your parents and enjoy it!