Read Malachi 1.6-14
Yes Sir, Yes Mam
In God’s accusation against Israel, He begins his argument with the natural principle that some positions, by their very nature, are worthy of honor – namely that of a father and that of a master here in verse six and that of a political ruler in verse eight. We live in the south and have a clear understanding of this type of expectation. Here we were taught, and we teach our little ones to say Yes Mam’ (or Yes’ Mmm, as my friend Ryan would say) and Yes Sir. Nothing less than that will do. We call our parents Daddy and Mama as a term of endearing respect, I’d never dream of calling up my Dad and saying, “Hey George. How’s it going?”…and you wouldn’t do the same for your parents either! The rod would never be spared for such and offense. Not in the south.