Using an Extreme Example to Show God's Attitude Toward Honoring Parents

Because there is such a pandemic of broken relationships between parents and adult children and because most resources (secular and "Christian") blame parents, I'd like to share the biblical view using an "extreme" case.

If you read Jeremiah 35, you'll read about the Rechabites.(1) Their forefathers asked them to never drink wine, never build houses, and never become farmers. Instead, they were to live in tents as nomads. 

Drinking wine, building houses, and farming are not sinful, and while God commands us to respect our parents our entire lives, He does not command us to obey them after we're married. But the Rechabites took obedience to God's 5th commandment (honoring parents) beyond what was required (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-2; Colossians 3:20).

Our present culture would say the Rechabite parents were unreasonable and their children should set up boundaries. Most internet articles would call the Rechabite parents "abusive" and "toxic." And Freudian psychology would explain the terrible damage done by Rechabite parents.

God, however, saw the Rechabites' attitude toward parents as a direct reflection of their attitude toward Him, and He promised they'd never fail to have descendants who served Him.

We don't need to take honor to the level of the Rechabites, but we must carefully and prayerfully consider how God would judge our treatment of our parents. Our attitude toward our parents reflects our humility and kindness or our lack thereof (Philippians 2:3-4). More importantly, it reflects our honor of God (John 14:21).

For encouragement to obey God in this important area, check out the Bible Love Notes collection Honoring Parents.  It contains helpful 1-minute devotions such as 3 Aspects of Honoring Parents and What About Annoying Parents?

(1) Also spelled Recabites and Rekabites.

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