Should've included this note � will of course add it to my master copy �
� Note the distinction between an observation (descriptive) and a command or direction (imperative).
"Honor your father and mother" (Matthew 15:4 and 19:7, Mark 7:10 and 10:19, Luke 18:20, Ephesians 6:2), for example, is imperative. Imperative means "Do it!"
"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife � " (Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7, Ephesians 5:31) is descriptive, an explanation of a custom, not a command. It says "This is why this happens."
The latter was of course never intended � as I've seen it used, with agonizing effect � to trump, to cancel, to rescind, or to supersede the former. The Bible is replete with observations, descriptions, and quotations that are not God's directives or statements of His desire or promise.
