The Blessing of Showing Honor
There are things money cannot buy and the blessing that comes from honoring your mother and father is priceless. All parents are flawed, their parents were flawed, and you will be flawed when it’s your turn to be a parent. There are no perfect parents but that is no excuse to dishonor their position. You are to honor your parents because they are responsible for bringing you into this world. You received your DNA from your parents and you were not a mistake. You came from God but through your parents.
Key Scripture:
Ephesians 6:1-4; Psalm 139:13-16; Leviticus 19:3; Hebrews 12:9; Proverbs 6:20, 13:1, 23:22-25, 28:22; I Timothy 5:2-4; Matthew 18:6; Psalm 27:10; Romans 12:15; Jeremiah 31:15-17
Key Points:
1. God had a plan for your life before you were born. There are no illegitimate children, but there are illegitimate parents. God uses people to get you here but He will take you the rest of the way if your parents don’t parent well. God had to get you here and he used your parents to get you here.
2. Your mother went through labor to get you here. Every mother went through great pain to get you here. Parenting isn’t always easy and sometimes there is great pain and sacrifice. The definition of a parent is someone that has photos where they could have had money.
3. We relate to our parents in different ways in different stages of life. You honor or dishonor your parents through the way you treat them.
4. There are three stages where we honor our parents differently:
a. As children: by obeying them—willfully, cheerfully, immediately, with the right spirit
i. Obey because God has placed them over you
ii. Children must learn to obey the authority in the home, the church, and the government
iii. Dishonoring authority guarantees failure
b. As teenagers and young adults: by respecting them
i. Respect doesn’t mean you don’t see their weaknesses
ii. We need to forgive our parents
iii. You listen to them
c. Adult to adult: by appreciating them
i. Appreciate their efforts all day every day, all year long, year after year
ii. It costs something to be a parent; it’s expensive, time-consuming, challenging
5. When was the last time you thanked your parents? We show honor when we show appreciation. One of the most selfless things a person can do is become a parent. Appreciate their effort and provide for them as you are able.
6. Give your parents joy (Proverbs 23:25). Your parents’ happiness matters and it should matter to us. We tend to honor people less and less as they get older, but this is not God’s plan. Only in western culture do we celebrate the young and not the old.
7. As you grow older it’s your time to take care of them. Adult to adult means as they get older, it is the children’s responsibility to take care of the parents through relationships and even resources. You honor God when you take care of your parents.
8. In Jesus’ last words on the cross, He was concerned about His mother. You honor God when you honor your parents.
9. It takes courage to make peace with your parents. If you have been hurt by your parents, face it and still forgive and honor them. You came from God through your parents. Even if they abandoned you, the Lord Himself took care of you (Psalm 27:10). You receive special attention.
Final Thoughts:
What a tremendous commandment it is to give honor where honor is due so your life will be filled with blessing. You do this when you honor your parents. Pray over your children and pray over your parents. Honor your grandparents. Pray over your spiritual parents. Speak blessing over them because scripture commands it and because that blessing will come back on you in ways you can’t imagine.
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