Exodus 20:12
Is there any among you that will love to live a long time on the land that GOD has given to you?
I hope that you will say to yourself “Yes”!
If you have parents; grandparents or guardian it is important that you honor them. The scripture does not require us to agree with what we have been taught but to respect our parents or those who fulfilled the role of parent during our youth. When we disrespect those that have been given charge of our years of training we abort our ability to live long lives.
So how is it that we honor our parents/guardians? I have a few ways in how we could honor them; know that this is not a complete list but a place where we can begin.
- Be honest and fair
- Respect their authority
- Speak well of them
- Provide a small ceremony; such as cook for them or take them out to dine or buy a gift. However, there is no greater way to express your thanks than to just say “Thank you”.
For those of you who had an abusive relationship with your parents/guardians; forgive them. Share you’re hurt with GOD; forgive them and ask GOD to remove the anger and hurt you have towards them. Trust GOD to be who HE wants to be in your life and that is your FATHER. For all that you missed emotionally from your parents/guardian; GOD will and does LOVE you in the manner in which you were designed to be loved. Find a ministry group where those like you have had a difficult time in respecting their parents/guardians due to the abuse they caused on you. Remember, it is your desire to live a long life. Another attribute to honoring our parents/guardians is to live our lives in a way that causes others to say “that person must have had great parents”. Parents/guardians are honored when we excel in whatever positive venture we participate in; by the good choices that we make for our lives; by the kind words that we speak and by helping everyone in need.
Parents/guardians are honored by cultivating a child to become independent not by keeping him/her from growing up or by pushing them to be an adult before their time. We honor our parents by earning our freedom through responsible behavior rather than by demanding freedom in childish outburst and tantrums.
There will come a time when you become a parent that you realize that good parenting is difficult because of so many issues that parents must face for your best interest. For some parents it’s difficult to realize that their job is done and that as their kid we don’t require all their attention and guidance as before but when we do need their help, it will have been established within us to come to them. Honor your parents/guardian by asking for advice from time to time when making decisions. Honoring your parents/guardians is to understand that we are to continue to obey them especially if we live in their home and we are adults. Ephesians 6:1