Honoring Parents, Honoring God. Exodus 20:12

Exodus 20:12Amplified Bible

¹² “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The fifth commandment is simultaneously a simple instruction and an indispensable element of the well-being of entire societies.

When the Lord gives the command “Honor your father and mother,” He is laying down the essential blueprint for maintaining the stability of families, communities, the Body of Christ and His churches and hosts of all nations.

What does it mean to honor your parents?

The word for “honor” carries the notion of weight and heaviness; children ought to feel the weight of respect for their parents.

By this fifth commandment, God places the full weight of responsibility for the lifetime of moral and ethical upbringing of the children and their instruction in righteous living, firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the father and mother.

By this “God” weight, this weight of God, Parents are owed such high regard because God has placed upon them in their roles, the stewardship of such a role, accountability to such a role, to raise the next generation of children, is worth many times over, far beyond its utmost maximum possible weight in honor.

While children are in view here, the Bible also has much to say about parenting that honors God (see also Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21). — More on this later.

How does a child display this honor?

In several ways.

For one, a child ought to show practical respect to his or her parents.

This can be as simple as speaking well of our parents, showing them courtesy, looking them in the eye, and addressing them with a due sense of deference.

Second, it involves genuine love; there should be heartfelt expressions of affection between parents and their children.

Third, unless it would involve disobeying God, a child ought to obey what his or her mom and dad say.

This expectation is found all over Proverbs: for example, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).

Fourth, a child should submit to their parents’ discipline and authority.

All good parents discipline their children (though it must not be done in anger nor vindictively or disproportionately), and children should ought to be taught to implicitly trust such discipline is for their long-term good (Hebrews 12:5-11).

In ancient Israel, respect for ones parents was valued so highly that those who disregarded it flagrantly or persistently faced the death penalty (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

Why such a significant consequence?

Because the home provides the most essential and vital training ground, the success of which affects how the child will relate to authorities of all kinds.

We never outrun authority in our lives.

There are political authorities we are called to obey (Romans 13:1-7).

Spiritual authorities we are to respect (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).

And those of advanced years we are commanded to honor (Leviticus 19:32).

Most significantly, when children are taught how, when they learn over time to honor their parents, even despite their parents’ many imperfections, they learn what it too means to learn how to honor our ABBA, our perfect heavenly Father.

Reverence for parents is an integral part of reverence for God.

Because parental authority is God-given, for children to learn to honor their parents is to come to that place of spiritual maturity and honor God Himself.

So if you are a parent [age not specific] with children [age?] at home, it is not loving (though it may be easier) to fail to insist that your children honor you.

If you are an adult with parents still living, it is a matter of obedience to God you still show them the honor they are due, not according to how well (or other- wise) you feel they raised you but according to the position the Lord gave them.

As you honor them, you will be pleasing Him and showing those around you that God-given authority, when exercised in a godly way, is a blessing to all.

Honoring Parents …

It may come as a surprise to many of us this commandment is not age-specific.

It’s a commandment not just for the young but for children of all ages.

God asks parents be worthy of honor in the way they relate to their children.

And God commands that children obey and show respect for their parents in line with doing what is right.

This means both are to act appropriately at each stage of their lives together.

This commandment came to a society without the support systems that many of us are used to.

Adult children were totally responsible to look after aging parents.

God reminds us that as long as we have parents, we are to honor them, seeing that their living is respectable and they are well cared for.

It’s not just a matter of doing what our parents tell us to do when we are young.

It’s a matter of showing our utmost respect, life-long honor to the parents who gave us life, sacrificed incredibly all to raise us, launched us upon life’s journey.

The apostle Paul calls this “the first commandment with a promise.”

God indicates when we honor the parents with whom we are in relationship, he will honor us and He will surely and certainly bless us.

Some parents are easier to honor than others.

But respecting to the utmost those whom the Lord has chosen to place over us opens a door to abundant blessings.

By honoring our parents and others whom God places in authority over us, we honor and glory and our utmost worship and praise unto our Father in heaven.

Which is what each and everyone of us were created, shaped by God, to do …

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, ABBA Father, thank You for my parents and for giving me life. My First ABBA, Thank You for the lessons I have learned and the good times we have shared together. Forgive me for the times when I have not honored my father and mother as I ought – for I am aware that this is dishonoring to You. From this day forward, I pray that I may honour You in all my interactions with my family and my friends, and may my whole life be honoring unto You. This I pray in Jesus’ name.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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