The Ten Commandments. God’s Instruction Manual for LifeSample

Having respect for your parents

God has instituted the concept of family. He created humans as male and female (Genesis 1:27) and told them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). It was thus God’s idea that humans would be born and grow up in a family.

It is the responsibility of parents to take care of their children and to train them in the right way of life. Children should obey and respect their parents and other people who have authority over them, like teachers. If they do so, God promises that they will experience his blessing.

If children honor their parents, they will also take their advice to heart and learn from them “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” and to keep his commandments. That’s the best “recipe” or encouragement for a blessed life!

Honoring your parents also implies taking care of them when they are old and need help. The Bible says that it is “pleasing in the sight of God” to do so! (1 Timothy 5:4)

How is your relationship with your parents?