Honoring Parents

“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).

The basic unit of civilization is the family. Jesus’ statement, “Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst” describes a family. That is the basic assembly.

The family is the basic church. The father is the pastor.

We are to honor our parents. This is quoted in Ephesians 6:1-2. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’—which is the first commandment with a promise.” Honoring in this instance is obeying. There is a promise attached to it: you will live long on the earth.

We all have parents. They might not be Christians; they might not be alive; they might be divorced several times. They might not be good parents. We are to honor them, not because they are honorable, but because they are our parents. Respect has nothing to do with the person respected. He does not need to be respectable at all. Respect has to do with the respecter.

Written in 2015.

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