Your Honor

• Where do you usually hear the word “honor”?

• How do you show honor to someone?

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12

We could probably come up with at least 100 reasons why kids shouldn’t always have to honor their parents. For example, some parents are untrustworthy. Some struggle with addictions. Some seem to care only about themselves. Some pursue unhealthy lifestyles. Some make incredibly bad decisions. Some abandon their children. The list could go on and on.

The problem is, none of those reasons overrule God’s command. Regardless of their faults and personal issues, parents are to be honored. God’s plan is for parents to give their children love, guidance, discipline and security, and for children to give their parents honor. The fact that parents don’t hold up their end of the bargain doesn’t excuse children from holding up theirs.

To honor our parents means to recognize their relationship with us, to treat them with respect, to love them unconditionally and to want what’s best for them. If that’s not safe to do in our own home, we can do it from a distance. But we can’t ignore God’s fifth commandment. All of us need to find ways to honor our parents.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for telling us very clearly how we can obey you. Remind us to honor our parents every day, even when we don’t feel like it or if it is hard to do. Amen.