But You Don't Know My Parents

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

Honor your father and mother…but what if your parents aren’t worthy of honor?

It’s pretty clear in the Bible that we are to honor our parents.  

It’s even in the Ten Commandments.  Exodus 20:12 says, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

But here is a question I have heard many times.  “How can I honor my parents when they are such dishonorable people?”

Here’s my answer.  You don’t honor them because they are honorable.  You honor them because YOU are honorable.

We are called to be people of honor.  I like First Thessalonians 4:4 which says possess your vessel in honor.

Here’s a fun example, and this goes back to 1922, to a book by Emily Post about etiquette in society.  She wrote, “If a lady drops her glove, a gentleman should pick it up... offer the glove to her and say: 'I think you dropped this!' The lady replies: 'Thank you.' The gentleman should then lift his hat and turn away."

This is telling a man how to behave like a gentleman.  One thing a gentleman doesn’t do is stop to figure out if the woman has a track record of being lady-like.  Her lady-likeness has nothing to do with it.  He behaves like a gentleman, not because she is a lady, but because he is a gentleman.

We honor people, not because they are honorable, but because WE are honorable.

We possess our vessel in honor.  In other words, we get ourselves under control in order to live an honorable life, a life of honoring others because we are honorable.

First Peter 2:17 says, “Honor all people.”  How can we possibly do that when so many people are not worthy of honor?

First of all, everyone is worthy of honor or the Bible wouldn’t say that.  They are worthy of honor as people made in the image of God.  They are worthy of honor because Jesus died for them.  They are worthy of honor because God loves them.

So the question isn’t “are they honorable?”

The question is, are WE honorable?

If we are, then honor flows through us to others.

Back to the Ten Commandments.  We are told to honor our father and mother.  Sure, they were imperfect.  Or you may say, “No Doug, my parents actually were perfect…a perfect mess.”  The command remains the same, to honor them.

And if you can’t motivate yourself to honor them, get this into your head.  We don’t honor them because they are so honorable.  

We honor them because WE are honorable.

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.