"Honor your father and mother..." (Exodus 20:12) is one of God's Ten Commandments. This is basic to God's plan for our lives. Families must be built on God's covenant of grace. Children learning to respect and obey their parents brings many blessings to the family, community, and culture. This early parental training helps children with the self-discipline they need throughout their lives. As adults, we preserve the dignity of our parents and teach our children important life lessons when we honor and respect our parents appropriately. Let's not get swept up in our era of parent-bashing and laisse fair child-rearing. Let's bless our parents in ways that honor God and teach our children to do the same. (If your parents were ungodly or abusive, find older folks in your church family for your emotional and spiritual support while treating your physical parents with honesty, respect, and integrity as much as possible and honorable.)

Loving Father and eternal God, thank you for my parents — physical and spiritual. Bless them with what they most need to find their way home to you. Please give me the wisdom to know the most appropriate way to show my love and respect to my parents. Most of all, Father, please help them to see that my love and character come from you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.