ESOCS Devotional 26 May 2026 – Honouring Parents: A Divine Mandate
MEMORY VERSE: “Honour thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3 KJV
TEXT: EPHESIANS 6:1-9
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
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In 2 Timothy 3:1-2, one of the issues that Saint Paul was worried about was children’s disobedience, especially to parents in the last days, (Romans 1:30, Titus 3:3). In Colossians 3:20, we see that obedience to parents is well pleasing unto the Lord. Little wonder in Exodus 20:12, the Lord Himself charged children to honour father and mother – if they wished to live long and happy lives, (Matthew 15:4, Mark 7:10).
Obedience of children to parents, as a divine charge, is instituted by God the Father of all. It follows therefore that, those who walk in disobedience of parents, do not disobey only parents, but the Lord. Moreover, for anyone to be seen as obedient to God, he or she must demonstrate commensurate honour and respect to earthly parents. Obedient children help promote the standards of a Christian atmosphere in the family. From there, they mature into assets for social stability.
As referenced above, the first commandment for children under the Old Testament Law was that they honour their parents (Leviticus 19:3, Deuteronomy 6:1-16, Proverbs 23:22). When children respect their parents, they help in preserving God’s plan for the Christian home. Children, therefore, have it as a responsibility to work with their parents. This will help in developing the family atmosphere that God desires for Christian homes. In other words, the social order that God requires, is founded and/or established in the home through the obedient relationship children maintain with parents. When children are allowed to lead undisciplined lives, they eventually lose respect for their parents. A child that does not give honour to the authority of parents will eventually do same in reference to the authority in society. Therefore, honour and respect for authority in society begins at home. It is a divine mandate from above.
Reflections
- Obedience is the first duty of a child
Prayer
- Lord Jesus, teach me to obey my parents, as you obeyed the Father, even unto death.
Further Reading: Exodus 4:1-17; 1 Kings 5:1-12; John 7:13-52
ESOCS Devotional 26 May 2026
