Honor is Given when not Earned

“Honour thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:2-3‬ ‭RV1895‬‬ bible.com/bible/1922/eph.6.2-3.RV1895 Today’s verse is one of humility. Honor your mother and father.

In our complex, open society, this can be a little difficult. No one has perfect parents, or everyone has them. It depends on your stage in life. As children, we look to our parents as perfect and all-knowing. As we grow, we disagree and agree more. Maybe as we grow we realize that we can do that. When we become parents, we relate to our parents because there is no book to prepare us enough to become a parent. We can prepare, but only to a point. All of a sudden, the greatest joy of having children, becomes like running in a forest at night. It becomes an almost impossible task full of chances of screwing up and regretting our decisions.

The Lord knows this. He understands the pain in making decisions that might cause pain in the now, but down the road is better. The doesn’t say give honor where honor is due. He knows that being a parent is full of making mistakes and difficult choices. Therefore, we honor as we are told to. We acknowledge that parenting is a difficult task. If we disagree with our parents on parenting, we have a chance to improve ourselves when we become parents.