Did you know the Bible doesn’t tell us to love our parents?
The Bible tells us to love God, to love our neighbour, and even our enemies.
Still, interestingly, there is no explicit commandment to love a father and a mother.
Still, there is a commandment to honour them.

That’s interesting, isn’t it?

In his infinite wisdom, God knows that sometimes children have enough reasons not to fall in love with their parents. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with loving, exemplary, present parents.
By the way, when I speak about fathers, I’m including mothers, obviously.

But the Bible does not want to know if you fall in love with your parents; the Bible only wants to know the following: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20.12

That’s the fifth commandment.
What does it mean to honour parents?
Honouring means doing what is right for them. Treat them in a special way, different from others, even if you are not treated this way.

Understand that the mistreatment of someone does not need to define the way you treat this someone. That’s why the Bible teaches us that we can and must pay evil with good.

In the Old Testament, there was the law of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but Jesus showed that by this law, the world would end all the blind and toothless. So, there would be no future for such a world. Knowing this, Jesus determined that we should not return evil with evil.

So, for you who are a child, do not look at your parents’ faults and seek to pay them back. You can honour them and treat them in a special way.

What is a special treatment?
I change the tone of voice with the people I treat in a special way. I don’t treat my parents or wife the same way I treat anyone else.

Think about it: honouring our father and mother is not only for the benefit of parents, but it is also for the benefit of children because, as the commandment says, life is prolonged; it becomes fuller when we honour our father and mother.

Parents rejoice when their children honour them, and this commandment is there for a reason; from there, we take the example of how we should also honour God.

Read the 10 commandments in chapter 20 of the book of Exodus. Read all, focusing on this commandment and reflect on it. Even if you no longer have a living mother and father, you can live in a way that honours their memory.

Watch the video above with the entire message.