Honor Your Parents???Sýnishorn

Why are we unpacking the topic of honoring our parents in this Bible Plan? Isn’t it a “lesson” we left behind at children’s church?

Well, not quite. 

Firstly, there’s the fact that God commands it of all of us. ‘Honor your parents’ is literally in the Ten Commandments and it’s repeated three more times in Scripture - in the books of Deuteronomy, Matthew, and Ephesians. It’s evident that this is not a suggestion or a “nice to have,” but a command from God to us.  

Secondly, it’s a topic we don’t regularly study in adult Christian teaching. In terms of family relationships, we run workshops on Christian parenting. And, of course, blogs about mommyhood and encouragements for dads abound in the Christian world. But we don’t hear nearly enough about how to relate to our parents when we ourselves are older. 

Getting back to today’s verse: there’s no fine print in the commandment we read in Ephesians. It doesn’t say honor your parents – ‘if you’re under the age of 18,’ or ‘as long as they don’t get under your skin,’ or ‘provided they don’t give you advice you didn’t ask for,’ or even ‘as long as they’re good Christian folk.’

There are no caveats to the commandment to honor your parents.

Before we move on, though, I want to be sensitive to those of us who may come from homes where there was a toxic environment or abuse. We can honor our parents but also protect ourselves by incorporating boundaries using godly wisdom. We can honor our parents but also not allow them to manipulate us or our marriages. We can honor our parents but also walk with Jesus even if it displeases them. 

As Christians, there’s no overlooking the fact that we are still called to honor our parents in the Lord. Obedience to this calling is not easy but, in the power of the Spirit, it is not impossible. And so we pray:

Father God, Today, I want to obey You by dwelling on even the “difficult” and “inconvenient” portions of Your Word. Sometimes, the calling seems impossible to follow. So I say: All to Jesus I surrender. Work in and through me, Lord. Amen