"Father and Mother"

"What did you guys do yesterday?" asked Marc when he and his friends gathered for Sunday school.

"My dad made me help him paint our basement," grumbled Griffen. "What a bummer that wasand I told him so, too! I wanted to play football."

"Well, my dad told me to clean out the garage," said Diego. "Most of the stuff is his, so I told him to do it himself. Besides, I wanted to go to the movies with my neighbor."

Sam chimed in. "Helen and Greg made me wash their car. I told them I wasn't the one who got it dirty, but of course, that didn't matter!"

The others laughed. "Sam, how do you get away with calling your parents by their first names?" asked Marc. "I'd get grounded for sure if I tried that!"

Sam grinned. "Are you kidding? I'd never say that to their faces. I have to call them Father and Mother at home," he explained. "Can you believe that?"

At the sound of a buzzer, Mr. Brock called the class to order. He looked very solemn. "How many of you know the Ten Commandments?" he asked. Most of the hands went up, and at Mr. Brock's nod, Marc recited them rapidly. "Good," said Mr. Brock. "Now, how many of you realize that some of you broke one of those commandments today?" This time only one hand went up. "The fifth commandment says to honor your father and mother," Mr. Brock said. "Think about your conversation a few minutes ago."

The boys looked embarrassed. "W-we didn't mean anything by what we said," stuttered Griffen.

"No," said Marc. "I mean . . . we love our parents and everything."

"I'm sure you really do," said Mr. Brock, "but some of you were thoughtless and disrespectful." He looked around the class. "I have an assignment for you," he said. "I want you to concentrate this week on putting the fifth commandment into practice. We'll talk about it again next Sunday and you can tell me what changes you made in your attitudes, words, and actions regarding your parents."

Solemnly, the boys nodded.