Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 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.
The fifth commandment is not hard to understand, but as is the case with many of the commandments, is sometimes not completely obeyed. The commandments do not come with conditions such as, "Honor your parents as long as they are good to you." You may have had parents who were not godly or did not seem very loving--you are still supposed to honor them. Sometimes we treat commandments as mere suggestions instead of the commandment that they are.
Honoring parents includes speaking to and of them respectfully, obeying them, and taking care of them when they are old and unable to care for themselves among other things.
According to Merriam-Webster, honor means"to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect: to regard or treat with honor." Honoring parents means at least listening to their advice, obeying them as long as you are in their house and so long as what they say is in accordance with the Bible, speaking well of them--if you don't have anything nice to say about them, don't say anything (gossip), helping them, blessing them, and taking care of them when they are older.
Proverbs 1:8-9 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Our parents are God-given authority figures in our life. Honor for them is expected from God.
Leviticus 20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
Exodus 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.Proverbs 19:26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
Proverbs 20:20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
Proverbs 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Proverbs 28:24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
1 Timothy 5:1-3 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
The fact that parents are shown honor is taken for granted in the above verse.
Even when Jesus was on the cross He was our example of honoring our parents. He passed the care of His mother to John, the beloved disciple. He made sure she would be taken care of.
John 19:25-27 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
Adam Clarke says of this passage, "The disciple - whom he loved - John, the writer of this Gospel.
Woman, behold thy son! - This is a remarkable expression, and has been much misunderstood. It conveys no idea of disrespect, nor of unconcern, as has been commonly supposed. In the way of compellation, man! and woman! were titles of as much respect among the Hebrews as sir! and madam! are among us. But why does not Jesus call her mother? Probably because he wished to spare her feelings; he would not mention a name, the very sound of which must have wrung her heart with additional sorrow. On this account he says, Behold thy son! this was the language of pure natural affection: "Consider this crucified man no longer at present as any relative of thine; but take that disciple whom my power shall preserve from evil for thy son; and, while he considers thee as his mother, account him for thy child." It is probable that it was because the keeping of the blessed virgin was entrusted to him that he was the only disciple of our Lord who died a natural death, God having preserved him for the sake of the person whom he gave him in charge. Many children are not only preserved alive, but abundantly prospered in temporal things, for the sake of the desolate parents whom God hast cast upon their care. It is very likely that Joseph was dead previously to this; and that this was the reason why the desolate virgin is committed to the care of the beloved disciple."
