The Word of God commands us to honor our parents.
Exodus 20:12
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Leviticus 19:3
3 ‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
Scripture talks about honoring parents 31 times. Those who honor their parents honor God. Those who despise their parents also despise God. Even if they are Christians in their early life, they become Godless later on.
Deuteronomy 27:16
16 ‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
If you treat your mother or father with contempt, you will be cursed.
If you want to be blessed, respect and honor your parents. Take care of them. Obey them.
2 Timothy 3:1-2
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
In the last days, children will be disobedient to their parents. We can see that we are in the last days by many signs, including children. There are many children who disrespect and disobey their parents.
A parent’s love for their children is very special and deep. Your children will learn from you and treat you like you treat your parents. We must teach our children good things.
Philippians 2:5
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Have Jesus’ heart and mind. Ask God to give you the heart of Jesus. Jesus was a great example. He obeyed his Heavenly Father all the way to the end of his life. Jesus obeyed his earthy parents as well.
Honor your parents:
#1 Give thanks for your parents
Why should we give thanks for our parents? Not because they love us or take care of us. Give thanks for your parents because God commands you to.
Humans receive the most care from their parents, compared to every other species on the planet. No other species cares for their young so long, sometimes even their whole lives.
If you are blessed with godly parents, thank God for them.
#2 Obey your parents
God gives parents godly wisdom.
There was a professor who studied 4,000 people to see when their minds get old. People say that when they get old, they get weak, forgetful, can’t learn new things, etc… But this professor studied to see if this is true. He found that even at the age of 75 years old, a person’s mind had the same capabilities as when they were young. Their levels of understanding, awareness, memory, and sensitivity continue to be strong and can grow.
There is nothing wrong with the brain at an old age. What is the problem then? Our mentality. We retire. We give up life. What is the problem? Our tongue. We speak into our lives that we are failing in our mind. But that’s not true.
Why does this matter? Older people have wisdom and understanding. Young people need to seek their counsel. Honor them for what they have learned and experienced. Accept their wisdom. Seek their counsel.
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, gave him advice about how to run things in Israel. He saw Moses counseling people from early morning to night. He counseled him to set up judges in the land, to handle the smaller matters so that he wouldn’t wear himself out. (Exodus 18:21-23)
Moses was very close to God. He followed God and served Him and had a lot of wisdom. But he was still Moses. He was limited and had a certain level of wisdom. Moses was 80 years old when he went to Egypt to bring Israel out. That means that Jethro was over 100 years old. Jethro counseled Moses. Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice.
#3 Take care of your parents
Take care of your parents financially and physically. When you take care of your parents, you will be blessed. God will bless you for your obedience to His Word. He will bless you back for whatever you give.
God bless you,
Pastor Sun East