Now let's consider God's next words to Israel, the fifth commandment, at Exodus 20:12.

Notice this honoring of one's parents was associated with long life, clearly having God's favor, approval, and blessing. Notice Paul's words in Ephesians 6:1-4, encouraging youths in this regard, while cautioning parents against disheartening them. Also notice how Paul refers to this one of the Ten Commandments--does it sound as though he is speaking of a command that is no longer in force?

"Children, be obedient to your parents in union with the Lord, for this is righteous. 2 “Honor your father and your mother” is the first command with a promise: 3 “That it may go well with you and you may remain a long time on the earth.”4 And fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and admonition of Jehovah."

HEAVENLY PARENTS. Of course, Jehovah God is our "heavenly Father," and is it not right and reasonable to honor Him as well? Certainly we may do so by speaking well of Him to others, and respecting His loving advice and correction whoever we may be and however long we have known Him. How much greater God's wisdom, knowledge, and insight than our own! Isaiah 55:9 reminded wayward Israel: "“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So my ways are higher than your ways And my thoughts than your thoughts." Yet, Psalm 138:6 says: "Though Jehovah is high, he takes note of the humble, But the haughty he knows only from a distance." May we remain humble before our loving God and Father, as a favorite verse of many underscores: "He has told you, O man, what is good. And what is Jehovah requiring of you? Only to exercise justice, to cherish loyalty, And to walk in modesty with your God!" (Micah 6:8). May we always aim to be submissive to God's clear direction in harmony with His word, delighting in loving and praising Him for His abundant goodness manifest in various ways! The Scriptures also speak of God's collective angelic hosts as a "woman," or God's wife. (Genes 3:15; Revel 12:1-2). These have been looking after the everlasting interests of mankind in harmony with God's will: "Are they not all spirits for holy service, sent out to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?" (Hebre 1:14). From among them came God's Son, Jesus, and who together, with his anointed bride, likewise assists mankind to eternal life. (1Cori 11:3; 15:45; Revel 21:2; 22:17)

The Proverbs of Solomon open with these words: "A wise son makes his father rejoice, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother." (Prove 10:1). May children thus appreciate the love shown by their parents, and seek to honor them throughout their lives.

COME TO CONSENSUS CORNER

Week 9:
ISSUE AFTER ISSUE ADDRESSED BY GOD’S KINGDOM: LEGAL BUSINESS CONTRACTS, ETC.

Psalms “15 O Jehovah, who may be a guest in your tent? Who may reside in your holy mountain? 2 The one who is walking faultlessly, Practicing what is right And speaking the truth in his heart.”

Proverbs 12:19-20 “Truthful lips will endure forever, But a lying tongue will last for only a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot mischief, But those who promote peace have joy.”


A HOBBY? Are you one who loves to pour over legal documents as a hobby, eager to see what nuance you may find differing from a similar one you read six months prior from a similar company? Granted, the reading of such documents has become a necessary part of life today for most, and to some extent, they serve an important purpose, in making possible agreed upon terms and business obligations. Does it seem, however, that the companies promoting integrity, honesty and straightforwardness are hard to spot, based on the legal documents they put forward to do business with you? While wanting or needing services from a business entity, large or small, many find it a difficult challenge to weed through a mass of words and ensure there is not some hidden trap waiting to ensnare them unsuspectingly.

HONESTY. At the same time, there are companies eager to have your business, who are willing to be honest and straightforward in their terms of service, or in what they offer in their product lines. They are willing to tell you up front what your financial obligations are, and what they will provide accordingly. If it was possible, they would be willing to tell you in plain simple language what you are getting and what they are asking for from you.

LEGALESE. Could you see this as an issue worth addressing? Have you at times, for instance, hesitated to sign up with a company, perhaps on the internet, because it will require that you read through an exhaustive Privacy Policy and Terms of Service? Or are you one who is so put off by such legalese that you have considered clicking a box stating you have read and agree to the terms, even though you barely skimmed through it, just to have the product, services or information you desired? What may be done, in the spirit of God’s incoming Kingdom, to address such concerns as these?

STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS. What if the major companies in an industry, willing to show a spirit of cooperation, put their heads together and considered the terms they hold in common with one another, and what they might be willing to agree to in the way of fair business practices, and honest dealings with customers? Could such groups come up with an Industry-specific GENERAL TERMS, that relate what those specific companies hold in common or what they are willing to hold in common? Then, each individual company might have a few specific terms, that it could detail in another document, some sort of SPECIFIC TERMS document. Any person who has read the GENERAL TERMS document already, agreeing to it, may then need only read the SPECIFIC TERMS in order to comprehend all that the company is providing and requiring. Also, what if ALL of the FINANCIAL ISSUES affecting the customer were addressed at the very top of each of these documents, so there was no confusion or hidden tricks aiming to take advantage of someone? This may reveal an honest spirit of integrity for those companies willing to uphold such in the public eye. ANY COMPANY in the industry who can generally meet the standards set forth in the GENERAL TERMS document might declare their support, and develop their own SPECIFIC TERMS document making known any additions, modifications, or clarifications. This would save much unnecessary reading on the part of customers.

UPDATING. ALSO, if a GENERAL TERMS document needs to be modified or updated at all, let an UPDATE document be released, that shows just the changes made to the document, or all the changes made that calendar year, for any who have already read the ORIGINAL. They need only read and comprehend the changes. Perhaps the latest entire GENERAL TERMS document may be posted each January 1, so that anyone can read it or be reminded of it’s contents.

LAYMAN’S TERMS (LT) VERSION. What if, also, such a GENERAL TERMS document could be put into an additional LAYMAN’S TERMS VERSION, or LT VERSION, that would be no longer than 1/3 the original legal document length, and would spell out, honestly and openly, the primary concerns of the customer and company, in clear and simple language, apart from the legal terminology so common in those documents? Reading the LAYMAN’S TERMS document would give the average person a much faster read, and way to comprehend more readily what the legal document sets forth. Agreeing to the LT document may be a preliminary way of indicating a willingness to cooperate or enter agreement—they are willing to go further in pursuing the product or service. As long as the legal document contains nothing important intentionally hidden or missing from the LT document, the customer is then likely willing to do business, and the reading of the legal documents becomes more of a formality, while still, however, making it more official.

HEADINGS. Also, such companies who choose to uphold the aforementioned standards of honesty, straightforwardness, fairness in business practices--general integrity, without any underhandedness, would be welcome by me to consider my patented license for paragraph HEADINGS, to make the reading of these documents even more straightforward and understandable. The headings would work in the same way as in this document, to give in a few words generally the most helpful idea presented in the following paragraph, building anticipation. The patent now gives students the right to use these headings for free when writing something that is not-for-profit.

A STANDARD PRIVACY POLICY. Also, what if certain companies known for their integrity, security and privacy support, such as Apple, Inc., and I believe, Microsoft Corp. now also, similarly put forward a GENERAL PRIVACY POLICY document, that once again several other business or internet groups may officially support or adhere to, with perhaps just a few changes or additions? Having read this Privacy Policy, or it’s latest update, you need only read any PRIVACY POLICY SPECIFICS by the company of interest, to know where it stands on this crucial issue.

FURTHER ISSUES. Also, God's Kingdom is to bring a large measure of stability to society. While some things may continue to change, with variety still the spice of life, there should be less to disturb us, or threaten our peace and happiness. Along those lines, most contracts signed in person are the agreements that are considered binding regarding that product or service, at least over a certain time period. However, many internet services have been eager to change their terms at will, giving you a short time to review these changes, and decide whether or not to continue with their services. You're forced to change what you agreed to when you first signed up with the company. What if more stability could come about, with those companies willing to do things a better way? There may be some good options: (1) What if we had at least a 6-month standard period of time for which most such agreements would be good for. While such terms could change anytime for new customers, what if the agreement that a customer made with such companies was good for a reasonable period of time? Such internet agreements could clearly state a term for which the agreement is good for, or possibly a date that it is good until, at which time any adjustments or modifications could be made. There could be reasonable time allowed for reviewing any changes to such service terms, before making any decisions. OR, (2) Such a company might set a date yearly or a time every so often to make significant changes to the internet environment of it's customers, and make the terms good until that date, so that any changes to the system may be uniformly reflected to all customers at the same time. Stating a TERM for the agreement may be very helpful, and hopefully in most cases any changes afterward would be few and far between. Such would reduce worry of unexpected and unsettling emails requiring you to review the updated terms. And again, when the term is up, why not provide a document showing just the changes to the terms that have occurred since the last term began, or since the year's beginning, perhaps in layman's terms as well, rather than a full document to read, showing no attempt to hide what changes were actually made? Might something like this be a better way, for any such companies who care about the peace, security, and happiness of their customers?

Along the same lines, could most such companies provide a sign-up period of free service, or a low-cost trial, with the customer being required to read the Layman's Terms Service agreement, 1/3 the length of the longer Legal document, agreeing to this, and having the term of temporary service, for example, 3-7 days, to read through the more extensive Legal document, while enjoying the service, to be in position to, at the end of the trial, agree to the Legal document already read, which should be a formality after reading the LT version, and choose to submit payment for the agreed upon term of service? Granted, this may not be possible in every case, but some sort of access or benefit may be possible in most cases. How fine to have an easier-to-read document at first, to understand the agreement clearly, and begin enjoying the services, then having more time with which to consider the more official legal version!

CONCLUSION

WHAT A GIFT! What a gift for such an arrangement to come about by such companies, perhaps in cooperation with honest legal teams, willing to cooperate and uphold God’s standards of fairness, justice, reasonableness, and good business practices! Many companies in the same industry usually have their own specific niche or specific rewards and benefits associated with using their products or services, attracting certain types of customers, such that companies do not need to have an overly competitive or dog-eat-dog spirit. God Himself can bless the efforts of each company willing to do things His way, well motivated to provide good products or services to fellow humans. Granted, some businesses may still come and go—such is the nature of a free market system, one enabling people to explore possibilities and look for solutions to real problems. But God’s Kingdom is bringing a spirit of unity and harmony among those honoring Him the likes of which have been rare in human history. The relatively free market system that was somewhat present in the days of Israel and that has in many ways blessed the United States, while allowing for market creativity with a desire to achieve financial success, is capable of operating more on integrity to good standards and loyal love for fellow humans than on selfish greed. Proverbs 11 says, for instance: “3 The integrity of the upright is what guides them, But the deviousness of the treacherous will destroy them.” May many good things come about by such an arrangement, blessed by God, as He and His Son lead us toward a time of genuine peace, prosperity, and happiness, even endlessly!