Gò0dNews for Parents
Honor Your Father And Your Mother
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by Jenice Saint
xodus 20:12a instructs us to honor our fathers and our
and show them the love of Jesus in you. Speak kindly to
mothers. God only gave 10 commandments to Moses
them, and speak kindly about them. Tell them how much
and the children of Israel, and this was one of the 10.
you appreciate them.
How important God must have viewed this to be. To honor
Pray for them. We can all do this. Pray for their
your father and mother means to highly prize them, show
health, their happiness, their safety, their strength, their
respect to them, care for them, and admire them.
peace of mind, their provision, and their purpose. Pray
What are some practical ways in which we can honor our parents? I’d like to offer a few of my thoughts to you. Write a tribute. I did this myself many years ago. I
that you can honor them as they deserve to be honored. If they don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, pray for their salvation.
had read a book about it, and I loved the idea. I typed up my sentiments for each of my parents, printed them out on very nice paper, framed it for them, and presented it to them as a special Christmas gift. It was a very meaningful thing for me to do and an item for them to cherish. Provide for them. If your parents are elderly or have some other need, do what you can to help provide for them. This shouldn’t be done out of a sense of obligation but rather out of your love for them and desire to make sure that they have what they need. I keep my ears perked during conversations with
Love them. Tell them you love them. Each of us was
my parents. Whenever one says they would like to have
a gift to our parents, but they are also a gift to us. God
something or they need something, I write those things
orchestrated our families for us to love each other. Show
down and often surprise them with it when they visit from
love to your parents. Show them your love and the love
out of town or as a gift on another occasion.
of God.
Treat them with respect. This is something that children, young people, and adults can do. Honor your parents with
“Honor your father and your mother” is not only a commandment, but it is also a real privilege.
what you say and how you say it. Let your actions speak something that makes it hard to respect them, respect them
32 // September 2020
About The Author
as loudly as your words. Even if a parent says or does
Jenice Saint is a graduate of Lee University. She sings on the praise team at Grace Community Church in Cleveland, Tennessee.
