Honouring Parents
After God, the first people the Bible commands us to honour are our parents. This is the first commandment with a promise.
In the church we often repeat the scripture that says, “Honor your father and your mother” (Eph 6:2). Christians know the passage, but the practice goes beyond Christianity. In different cultures all over the world, people kneel down to greet their parents, they prostrate, some call and check in, others send a little money when they can, and some cultures even encourage the worship of parents.
But what does God mean when He commands that we honour our parents?
Before we assume we know what it means, before we repeat what we were told growing up, and before we continue the patterns we inherited without question, maybe we should pause…and think.
This week, let us ask the uncomfortable but necessary question: What does it really mean to honour your father and mother?
PREVIOUS EPISODE: HONOUR (PART 7)
CULTURAL HONOUR VS. BIBLICAL HONOUR
When you look across cultures, it becomes clear that every society has tried, in its own way, to define what it means to honour parents.
Some have expressed honour through reverence — like in parts of India, where parents are treated with near-sacred respect, their images displayed and their blessings sought as though divine.
Some have expressed honour through obedience and duty — like in the traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean concept of filial piety, where children are required to submit, serve, and care for their parents without question.
Some have expressed honour through respect, service, and communal responsibility — like in many African cultures, where elders are recognized as custodians of wisdom and family identity, and where caring for one’s parents is seen as an unbreakable obligation.
Some have expressed honour through rituals and ancestral veneration — like in ancient Greek and Roman families, medieval European households, and various Native and indigenous cultures, where honouring parents extended even beyond death.
Some have expressed honour through family loyalty and protection — like in Middle Eastern societies where shame brought upon one’s parents is considered a serious violation of honour.
Others have expressed honour through care, provision, and maintaining the family line — like the Yoruba, Igbo, and other ethnic groups in Nigeria whose customs emphasize respect, reputation, and responsibility.
Every culture has attempted to define honour. Each culture has produced a version of it, and many of those versions carry wisdom. But the question remains: Is honouring your parents simply what your culture says it is?
Is it just obedience? Is it respect?
Is it financial support? Is it service?
Is it ritual? Is it loyalty? Is it preserving the family name? Is it cultural gestures and greetings?
Or… is there a meaning that rises above culture, rooted not in tradition, but in Scripture?
READ ALSO: CHANGING GOD?
Different cultures have many expressions of honour, but God has His own standards, and that is what we must seek to understand.
READ NEXT: HONOUR (PART 7)
