Command 26 : Honor Your Parents | Day 179

Honor Your Father and Mother!

Since honoring our parents is to take a high priority in our lives, it is important that we know how to practically apply this command. Here are ten ways that we can begin showing honor to our parents.

1. Enjoy their company. Parents are honored when their sons and daughters delight in being around them and doing things with them. They are saddened when their children view time with them as an obligation rather than a joy.
2. Be with them in public. It is an honor to parents when their family is together in public settings, such as sitting together in church. It should be a priority to join them at public events that they view as important.
3. Introduce your parents enthusiastically to others. People can tell how much honor and respect we have for our parents by the degree of enthusiasm we show when we introduce them.
4. Thank them with gifts of appreciation. In this passage, the Greek word translated as honor, *timao*, means "to attach a value to something." We honor the government by paying taxes. We honor the Lord by giving tithes and offerings. It is therefore appropriate to honor parents by giving them meaningful and valued gifts.
5. Provide facts for decisions. Parents are called upon to make a multitude of decisions. In order for parents to make wise decisions, they must have all the facts, not just a select few. We must be open and honest with our parents and trust God to work through them.
6. Praise them before others. Unfortunately, many sons and daughters complain about their parents to others. No matter how faulty parents may be, we should look for qualities and achievements that we can praise before others.
7. Deflect praise. When people praise us for significant achievements, it is appropriate to thank them and then to direct praise to our parents for their many investments in our lives.
8. Welcome their correction. When parents address real or perceived problems in our lives, we can honor them by humbly receiving their correction. As we recognize that God is working through our parents to sharpen our lives, we are able to respond correctly to them.
9. Care for them in old age. When parents are incapable of taking care of themselves, it is our responsibility to honor them by making sure that their needs are met. Jesus' reaffirmation of the command to honor our parents was a rebuke to the Pharisees for neglecting this responsibility.
10. Honor their memory. When parents pass away, we should continue to speak respectfully of them. Their wise teachings and good examples should be written down and carried on for generations to come.

Do our words and actions toward our parents reflect an attitude of honor? Let's use this list as a starting point for creative ways to show them honor.