“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3
Our parents are our God-given authorities here on Earth. They are responsible for training and disciplining us in the direction that God intended us to be. They are also to teach us the right way to navigate life. But more than the training, disciplining, and teaching, they are the sole ones responsible for discipling us and making sure we grow up in the proper knowledge of the Lord. So do not be surprised if your parents have rules and regulations that you must follow.
“Honor your father and mother” is the fifth commandment given by God. But it is the first command with a promise. This means that God is very serious about giving this law and the benefits we can have upon obeying this. The promise attached to this verse is “so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you,” which means that if we want to have a good, fruitful, and abundant life, we must learn how to obey our parents.
Disobeying our parents means that we disagree with God and His Will. We disagree that our parents know what is best for us. It shows our pride and how entitled we feel that we already know what to do with our lives. This is for the reason that children often have a rebellious mindset. We follow what makes us happy, to the point of neglecting the beauty of listening and obeying authorities. Because just like in the whole Bible, great things happen when we obey.
To honor our parents means not just being polite or speaking well of them. But it all the more means acting in a way that shows respect to them as God-given authorities. When we don’t learn how to humble ourselves and submit to their commands, there will be a lot of destruction that can happen in our lives. Our own decisions will hurt us, and we will not live long abundantly. On the other hand, if we submit to them, we show respect to our parents and God.
Our obedience to our authorities here on Earth is a practice of our submission to God when we are with Him in heaven. So if we cannot find ourselves obeying our parents, maybe, we are not really ready to spend eternity with our Highest Authority. Also, remember, delayed obedience is still disobedience. Make honoring your parents part of your lifestyle.