Between Parents and Children

IF you come from a home background that left painful memories of childhood, you may find it hard to think kindly toward your parents. Yet Proverbs urges us as children to respect our parents, faulty though they may be. We need not like or approve of everything our parents did (and do), but only a fool despises his parents (Proverbs 15:20).

It is important to add that the Bible sees parenting as a partnership between both the father and the mother, in which both are committed to each other and to the child’s welfare. That is the ideal, and a child tends to thrive in that kind of home. But whether or not our parents have come even close to fulfilling their biblical responsibilities, they deserve a measure of respect and affirmation.

Proverbs includes a number of principles about how we and our parents ought to relate:

• We have life through the union of father and mother (Proverbs 4:3; 23:25).
• As children, we have a significant impact on how our parents view their lives and evaluate their significance (Proverbs 10:1; 15:20; 17:25; 23:24).
• How we treat our parents displays our values and attitudes (Proverbs 19:26).
• Disrespect for our parents can have terrible implications for our own life (Proverbs 20:20).
• As our parents grow older, we should give them the gifts of listening and caring (Proverbs 23:22).
• By pursuing wisdom, we not only benefit ourselves but can bring great joy to our parents (Proverbs 23:25; 29:3).
• By pursuing evil and folly, we can be a destructive force in our parents’ lives (Proverbs 28:24; 29:15).
• We will suffer greatly if we show no respect for our parents (Proverbs 30:11, 17).

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.