Deuteronomy 5:16 – Honoring our parents

The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with man’s relationship with God, while the next six deal with man’s relationship with each other. One has to do with the vertical relationship, the other deals with the horizontal ones. The relationship established by the first four commandments formed the foundation from which the next six would flow. Honoring God facilitates one’s ability to honor others. The first earthly relationship one has is with one’s parents, this could be why God dealt with it immediately after He dealt with the call to love and honor Him.  

The fifth Commandment reads, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.” Notice God specifically mentioned father and mother. There is a possibility of children who would just honor the father but not the mother or vice-versa. This commandment states that children must honor both the parents. They must do so not only because of the relationship they have with them, but also because this is an instruction from God.

Here God gave two incentives to ensure this fifth commandment to honor their parents be kept. The first incentive is the promise of longevity. And the second incentive has to do with what would happen to society when there’s a solid relationship between parents and children. Homes are the main fabric of society. Hence the strength of a society is determined by the strength of the homes. Just imagine how strong a society will be when it is made up of strong homes where parents and children are living harmoniously in one accord. Then imagine how greatly a society will be affected when parents and children are living in discord in most homes.  A strong parent children relationship would ensure strong homes, hence a strong community.

The more important question about honoring parents is not what will we get out of observing it but how do we do it? Here are three simple things we can do to honor our parents: obey them when we are young, support them when they are old, and respect them all the time. It’s not complicated at all!