Still meditating on the 5th commandment – “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) – we can see that, in the Bible, God does not command us to honour anyone but Himself and our parents. He does not give us the order to honour others in this world (it is not that it is not correct, in certain situations, that you may act with honour and be an honourable person).

Now, we know, for example, that the first contact with authorities that a human being has is with their parents. When we are born, even before we understand who God, government officials and bosses are, we know our father and mother. That is, it is the first contact with authority and the first form of recognition that there is someone above us to whom we must answer. And this principle is essential for the good upbringing of a human being. Because a human being who thinks no one is above them is dangerous. A human being who thinks they do not respond to anyone can do anything; history has examples of this. Therefore, God gave us a father and a mother so that we have the first contact with an authority. It is the first understanding that there is someone above us.

This brings us important information and power (the power of parents and children, the power of a united family). Looking throughout history, you will see that those totalitarian, absolutist governments seek to dominate thier citizens. And for that, they seek to break the link between parents and children. Because if the children do not respond to their parents, they do not have affection and respect for their parents, they are easier to master. Because the sense of belonging, which makes the person fight for what is “ours”, is broken. If you have no sense of family, you have no sense of belonging; you don’t belong to anyone. And if you don’t belong to anyone, there’s no one to fight for. Therefore, you become easier to be dominated. This is very important for you to understand.

The Lord Jesus said: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25).

In other words, authority is so powerful that even Satan understands the power of it. Not even demons fight each other. They respect authority so that they can exercise the power of destruction over the human being. In the interest of evil, parents do not honour their children, and children do not honour their parents. The family is the first core of society.

So, what is the lesson we have to take? That family teaches us what authority is. Respect for authority is essential for you to be a strong, well-raised person. So that you have support from people who respect you and you give support to people who belong to your family. You, child, know that parents are not always kind, but the commandment is that we come to honour them. Their mistake doesn’t have to lead me to fail them. You don’t need to return evil with evil.

Do your best to keep this commandment. And if your parents have already passed away, do it for God. Because the Father and the Mother symbolise God and the Church. So, how have you treated your spiritual parents? The Church will be with God forever. And if you want to be with Him forever, honouring the Church too is good.

Follow the video above and think about it.