Question: How important is it for me to honor my parents?
Answer: It is very interesting to note that honoring our fathers and mothers is not only one of the Ten Commandments (it’s listed as the fifth commandment in Exodus 20), it is also echoed in the book of Deuteronomy and in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Then the apostle Paul reiterates it in Ephesians 6:2, calling it “the first commandment with a promise.”
Paul is not saying that honoring our parents is the first or even the foremost commandment. He is simply pointing out the fifth commandment is conditional. In other words, God attached a promise to this particular commandment, unlike the other nine. And the promise is that “your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
Certainly, God was making this conditional promise to the people of Israel, but does it still apply to us today? Apparently. The apostle Paul believed that it did, because he sandwiches his quote of the commandment between these two phrases: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” and “so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the Earth.”
Based upon all of the scriptural evidence, I think we can safely conclude that honoring our parents is still pretty important to God. And this isn’t something that applies only to children. Adults can continue to honor their mothers and fathers even into old age by showing respect and gratitude to those who poured into their lives throughout the years.
I know that there are some people whose relationships with their parents have been strained in various ways, even to the point of abuse. This challenge to show honor is not intended in any way to condemn or criticize those who find it extremely difficult to do so.
God knows each one of us very intimately, and He understands why it might be harder for some to walk in the fullness of the fifth commandment. Always ask for His grace to carry you to places where it’s not easy to go on your own.
Dr. Steve Rahter
Pastor, Praise Tabernacle
Egg Harbor Township
