Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3

Often times the church is quick to quote, “Honor thy father and thy mother, with failure to remember what the Apostle Paul said first, thus confusing the meaning. Paul states that we as children are to obey our parents, in the ways of the Lord. Obey means to carry out or comply. In essence we are to carry out what God has said in His Word when our parents have instructed us in His ways because it is right. If what our parents are asking us to comply with does not line up with God’s commands then we are at a cross roads. One of being disobedient to God which leads to Exodus 20:3, that states “you shall have no other gods before Me.”

When honoring our parents, God is saying to live a life that brings honor to them. By definition honor means a good name or reputation. The best example of living a life that honors a father and mother is in 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy then to hear my children walk in truth.”

Honor and obedience are not the same by definition. Their similarities comes in the act; the act of walking in the ways of the Lord. When we obey His Word we bring honor to our parents and in turn, we are also obeying them.

The enemy has duped us long enough. God’s Word is freeing, not controlling. To manipulate any scripture is not how it was spoken. It is time that we stop allowing this scripture to bring condemnation to children and control in the hands of the parents.

Whether we as children have God seeking parents or not is not the issue. We can still obey in the Lord and honor by walking in His Truth.