The Bible tells all children to "obey your parents in the Lord," because this is right in God's sight. What does the word of God mean when it said that?

A promise

God wants all children to honor their parents. In fact, He has included this command in the Ten Commandments that He gave to Moses – a list of things that God wants and hates. We read this command, which is the fifth, in Exodus 20:12.

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you."

This command is so important that it had a promised reward coming alongside it. Think about it: God wants us to honor our parents unconditionally, regardless of how they treat us. God will reward our obedience to Him with long life.

Ephesians 6:1-3 nails this teaching in our minds:

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."

'In the LORD'

That said, what does the "in the Lord" phrase mean to tell us? It's actually pretty simple, really:

It simply means to honor our parents in obedience to the Lord.

Some religious leaders, hungry for power and control over the lives of the people they lead, twist this teaching and turned it into something wrong.

One such teaching emphasizes the need for believers to obey or honor their spiritual parents, even if it means prioritizing the church leaders and abandoning the needs of their parents and their families. Jesus addressed such a false and soulish teaching in Matthew 15:3-9, saying:

"He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. 'But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"— then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' ""

Honor your Father in heaven

Friends, we ought to honor our Father in heaven. When we honor Him, we will do as He said. And when we do all that He said, we will learn to honor our fathers and mothers, regardless of who they are and what they do.

Even the Lord Jesus Himself honored His earthly parents while He walked on earth in the flesh. Luke 2:51 tells us, "Then [Jesus] went down with [Mary and Joseph] and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them."

If Christ the Lord honored His earthly parents, then who are we not to do that?