R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (your parents & guardians)

Read it: Ephesians 6:1-3

“Children, obey your parents (or guardians) because you (both) belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Think about it:

You’ve heard it said before … “Obey your parents.”

But have you ever really thought about why you should?

A lot of times I think we have an “it’s all about me” mentality, instead of thinking about how what we do and what we say affects the people who are around us … including our parents and guardians.

So with that being said, do you honor and respect your parents and/or guardians?

When they ask you to clean your room or do your homework … do you grumble about it or even worse … shout nasty words back at them?

When they don’t agree with you or say things you don’t want to hear … do you yell at them and tell them they are wrong?

Or how about … do you respond to them with a sarcastic tone … like you’re talking down to them? Even if you are “just kidding.”

Now, I know this isn’t exactly what you want to hear, but let me remind you that your parents and guardians, like everyone else in this world, also belong to God.

They are made in His image ... just like you.

God loves them and sent His son to die for their sins … just like He did for you.

So don’t you think, that if God wants us to show love to our neighbor that he also wants us to show love to our parents and guardians?

Now, the last part of this scripture says that honoring your father and mother is the first commandment. Why do you think it says that?

Think about it this way, if we can’t even treat our family with love and respect, how are we going to treat our neighbor with love and respect?

Pray about it: Even if you have a good relationship with your parents, ask God to show you how you can show more love to them. Ask Him to point out things you do that might disrespect/dishonor them. And if for some reason you're angry with them, ask God to help you forgive them. It’s important to have a healthy relationship with them, so ask God to help you work together and instead of against each other.

Live it: Work hard to remember this scripture because it really will change how you live. Take time today to do something nice for your parents … just because. And if you don’t agree with them or get angry with them, try responding in a kind way instead of with sarcasm or anger. Honor them with your words and actions. You’ll be surprised how different you’re relationship with them can be.