*See The Power of Your Parent’s Approval pt 1
There is another epidemic among students that is largely unaddressed regarding their parents. There is an age old principle in the Bible called “honor.” In fact, in the oldest laws that have ever existed, honoring parents is top on the list.
“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
Ephesians 6.2-3
This is one of the ORIGINAL Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Not only that, but it’s the only one that has a conditional promise with it. The promise being that things will go well for you and you will live a long life on earth. The condition being that you must honor your parents.
Honor is a word that has lost much of it’s true meaning. We think of movies like Gladiator or The Last Samurai, where honor is this romantic, glorified thing that is mostly unobtainable. But honor is simply respect, reverence, to value, to give preference to, or weighty as in gold. The value of gold is measured in weight. You don’t put gold in a junk drawer. You give it a place of honor. When you honor someone, what they say has value, it has merit. It has clout, it carries weight with you. When something is valuable, you will keep it a long time, and cherish it. Honor can be displayed in action, word, and even thought. But all true honor originates from the heart.
And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.
Isaiah 29.13
Honor for parents must begin in the heart, otherwise it’s not true honor. It’s fake, and is actually dishonor because of it’s deceit.
The Bible is clear that we are to honor our parents! Not only honor them, but obey them as well! Naturally, the next question is, “What if my parents aren’t Christian? Do I still have to obey and honor them?” The answer is a huge YES! You are to still obey, and do so with honor. In fact, there is only one situation biblically where you are allowed to disobey your parents and not fall under the curse of disobedience. That situation is if your parents ask/tell you to do something that is contrary to God’s Word. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did not obey the King’s order to bow before an idol, but they did so with honor. When Nebuchadnezzar bad them brought before him for their disobedience, they still honored him, even in their disobedience.
16 The three men replied, “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves. 17 The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace.”
Daniel 3.16-17
The basic principle of honor is simply this: Honor God’s authorities, and God will honor you. Parents are authorities over us, and we are to honor them. By honoring them, God honors us by giving us long life, and a good one.
