What does it mean to Honour our Parents?
Even when we don't think they deserve it?Luke R. 02.08.2019
Upon reflection after last week’s sermon on Ephesians 6:1-4, I thought it necessary to address and define what Paul was referring to when he called the Ephesians to obey and honour their parents. It raises questions as to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The word used here for children (Tekvov) is generally used to define young children and offspring in general. This is referring to the young members of the church directly but all children indirectly. This means that this relates to all of us. So, we are all called to obey and honour our parents when we abide with them and honour them as we leave to become our own family unit in marriage.
In Verse 2 of Ephesians
With this in mind, and the weight of the spirit inspired words of Paul ringing heavily in our ears, we must then wrestle with what it means to
The Meaning of Honour
What we must first do is define what this word, honour, means. Then we should look at the context of it in its day. The word honour, or Tima in the Greek, refers to the value and price you put on someone or something. So, as Paul was commanding the children to obey and honour, he was calling them to obey in response to the value of their parents. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 outlines the important part parents are to play in the raising of Children. In this section, Joshua, summarises to the new generation who are about to enter the promised land, what the decalogue is about. He states that they are to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and might and they are to teach it diligently to their children. This is to create a
Practicing Honour
Practically speaking,
As Paul calls for an attitude over an action what should be some distinctions that help frame our actions in light of our attitudes.
- Honour God first. In
honouring your parents, we mustrealise that above every authority God is sovereign. He calls us to complete obedience to him, even if that means we loserelationship or suffer ridicule. This does mean thathonour and obedience must be separated. If a parent asks you to do something that is either overstepping their authority or disobeying God, you can respectfully say no. Honour positionnot the person. Ifhonouring the person throughrelationship is unwise then we work tohonour the position given by God. This means to have a respect for fathers and mother in the general sense. This means to respect that God has created the position and esteemed your parent to that position.Honour it by speaking well of it and fulfilling your role in it if the time comes for you to do so.- Honour does not mean relationship. Again, if you are unsafe or do not have the opportunity to know your parent then honour from afar. This means to speak well of them, honour the seat they have and be willing to forgive. Prayer has a very important role in this. It is very hard to pray for someone whom you do not love.
- Honour does not mean enabling or agreement. As you work through your obedience to this you must
realise thathonouring does not condone theirbehaviour . You can love them and speak well of them while still calling out sin. This may mean that if abuse has taken place that you can alert authorities.
Ultimately, we are called to live in response to the good news of Jesus. This means that all our thinking and praying should be around connecting the disconnected to Him. As you are thinking and praying through this issue don’t forget that God does indeed give you more than you can handle so that you are reliant on Him. Bring the Holy