Ephesians 6:2-3 NKJV “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.”

Notice, it didn’t say little children, honor your father and mother. Also notice, it didn’t say honor your father and mother if they were good parents. It simply tells us to honor our parents. So as adults, regardless if our parents were good or present, we’re instructed to honor them.

To honor means to reverence or have deep respect. It doesn’t mean put them first, put them before our spouse, or do everything they say. We honor our parents with the help of Holy Spirit. If He tells us to call and check up on them, call. If He tells us to send them a gift, send something. It shouldn’t matter how we feel or how they’ve treated us. We’re simply obeying the Holy Spirit, but at the same time, we’re honoring our parents.

Some of our parents could have been better, to say the least. Depending on the circumstances, we may have to honor them by faith. We honor them by faith by looking past how they’ve treated us and honoring them as if they were great. To our flesh, this is extremely difficult, but the Holy Spirit will help us with this too.

Don’t be prideful, stubborn, or disobedient. When we honor our parents, God promises us a long successful life. Let’s begin or continue to honor our parents.