Obedience

The most famous of all English admirals was Nelson.  As the admiral Lord St Vincent said, “It does not become me to make comparisons, there is but one Nelson”.  Besides his great skill, he was completely fearless and in battle he wore, as usual, his admiral’s uniform bearing on the left of his chest four stars with which he had been decorated at various times.  His officers saw that these stars made him a prominent target for the riflemen posted high up in the rigging of the enemy’s ships, and they suggested that, if he would not change his uniform, he ought at least to cover up the stars.  But Nelson’s reply was, “In honour I gained them, and in honour I will die with them”.

Self-control and self-discipline

Now Nelson started at the very bottom of the Navy.  He joined his first ship when he was only 12 years old and went right through the Navy until he reached the top.  And he once said something which I want you to remember, because he knew what he was talking about, “He that will command, must first learn to obey”.  Learning to obey when we are young makes our characters stronger as we grow up, and we develop the qualities of self-control and self-discipline.  Boys and girls who are never taught to obey are pampered and spoilt, and often remain spoilt all their life.  They have never learnt to get command of themselves and so, when they are men and women, they say and do things which they are ashamed of afterwards, and no one respects them.

Our duty

The Fifth Commandment teaches us the duty of obedience to our parents and also to other people such as our teachers and when we start work, to our employers.  But we should not have an unthinking obedience, and if ever we are asked to do something which we believe is wrong we should not obey the order and we should talk about it with someone we trust.

We have a duty of obedience as citizens to keep the laws passed by Parliament and obey the police whose duty it is to see the laws are kept. 

Consideration for others

We should always try to be considerate towards other people.  Sometimes groups of young people throw their weight around, making a lot of noise in public places without any thought of the effect on other people.  Sometimes, of course, they talk or sing loudly in order to make themselves think they are the most important people, rather like the person who whistles in the dark to keep his courage up.

Respect

It is important that we show respect, not only to our parents and teachers but to everybody.  One of the ways we can do this is by being polite.  Some people think that rudeness is a sign of strength.  In point of fact it is a sign of weakness.  It needs much more self-control, and therefore shows a much stronger character, if we can still be polite and well-mannered when other people are not polite to us.  Besides that, you can often tell what kind of a person someone is by the way they treat the people who work under them.  Inconsiderate people treat their workers with discourtesy and no one will respect such bosses, whereas everyone respects and likes people who are courteous and well-mannered.  So always be polite, and don’t forget the little things that mean so much, such as giving up your seat on the bus or train to someone elderly or carrying a small child.  And remember to be like that when you grow up.

Stamping out bullying

You’ve probably all come across bullies.  Bullies do not respect other people and bullying comes in many different forms, such as telling lies about others, stealing from them, hitting them and saying nasty things or texting nasty messages to them.  People who are bullied may become so upset and frightened that they try to harm themselves and pretend to be ill so that they don’t have to go to school.  They may even become so distressed they kill themselves.  So bullying is very serious indeed.

Bullies will try and get others to gang up on the person they are bullying.  Make sure you don’t get drawn into this and never encourage bullying by, for example, laughing when you see someone being bullied.  Try and do everything you can to help stamp out bullying.  For instance, if you see a boy or girl being bullied they're probably very upset.  Make sure they know that you and your friends don't like what is going on and ask them to join your group so they feel included and supported. (1)

If you are being bullied, don’t try and cope alone.  Tell a friend, a teacher and your parents.  Unless you do this the bullying won't stop. (2)

SUMMARY

1. The Fifth Commandment also teaches us to love our country, and to obey people who have a right to our obedience, such as our parents and teachers, provided we are not asked to do something wrong.

2. It teaches us to be considerate, polite and respectful to everyone.  Rudeness is a sign of weakness.

3. One of the ways we can respect other people is by helping to stamp out bullying.

References

1. Carnell, L. (2010) Help someone being bullied.  Available from Bullying UK website:
http://www.bullying.co.uk/index.php/young-people/advice/help-someone-else.html  (Accessed 20 August 2010) (Internet).

2. Carnell, L. (2010) Introduction to bullying advice.  Available from Bullying UK website:

http://www.bullying.co.uk/index.php/young-people/advice/introduction-to-bullying.html  (Accessed 20 August 2010) (Internet).