Honor Your Father

Is Father’s Day biblical? What is the benefit to honoring our earthly fathers in addition to our Heavenly Father? Does honor really come with a promise? Join us below as we discover the answers to these and other questions about Father’s Day and honoring our fathers!

Honor:

Before we can begin to understand what Father’s Day has the potential to mean, we should first explore the word, honor.

Honor is a force. It is written that we are to honor our God, honor our parents, honor our elders, honor our leaders, etc. We are to walk in honor, but do we?

Honor is found approximately 179 times in the NKJV of the Word, literally from Genesis to Revelation! It is a Kingdom principle, one which Jesus Himself followed during His time on earth—from doing and speaking nothing unless His Father in Heaven did or said it first, to even seeing to it as He hung upon the cross that His earthly mother was to be taken care of…

“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”–John 19:26-27

Honor is not always convenient, but it is always fruitful, because it is in line with who God is. It is tied in to the greatest commandment of all, love, for in many ways honor flows from love. Yet, it is also tied to a servant’s heart—not forgetting that we are children of God, but doing as Yeshua, the King of all did—allowing us to walk in honor.

Honor confirms value already placed within people by God, because it takes a truth found in God and sets it to action. And by setting God’s truth to action, we open doors of blessing not only to those we honor, but through our action, we open the doors of blessing to ourselves.

“to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect : to regard or treat with honor

“to give special recognition to : to confer honor on” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Honor Your Father and Your Mother:

“Honor is the currency of Heaven.”—Curt Landry

The fifth commandment found in Exodus 20 tells us to honor our father and our mother. It is not an optional commandment. It does not state that if our earthly parents are not ideal, or fail to please us, that we suddenly are not meant to treat them with honor. It is a requirement, and one which becomes easy when we walk in the love of God—the love Jesus so freely gave and taught, and which is continually verified through Holy Spirit in us.

When we walk in the love of God—no matter who our parents are, how they act, or what they believe—our ability to behave with honor becomes far more natural.

Still, is Father’s Day—and Mother’s Day—biblical? Is it something we ought to observe?

Well, there is no holiday in the Word commanding us to honor our earthly parents, however, there is a biblical truth in such a holiday. Honor. Yes, Father’s and Mother’s Day may not be perfect—after all, God did not lay it forth as a command—but it is still useful. Because, we are meant to honor our parents—even spiritual parents, and of course, our Father God—and even with the flaws these holidays hold, they remind us to treat parents with honor. Yes, we are to honor our parents continually, not merely on one day for our father and another for our mother… but, sometimes we get busy, and need a reminder for what should be obvious.

It should be obvious to us, particularly with the fifth commandment staring us in the face, that we should honor our parents. However, truthfully, we all have likely failed this at some point—thank goodness for the Blood! Be it through thinking ill of our parents, failing to call them, putting things before them that perhaps we ought not, providing a harsh word, etc. We are imperfect, yet, the Perfect One knew that when He gave us the Ten Commandments. He knew that when He gave of Himself so that we might be redeemed, forgiven, restored, and granted the beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit to write His laws upon our hearts.

If God thought we could not manage honoring our parents, even with the Holy Spirit and Yeshua’s Blood, then surely He would have come up with another solution. But He knew that while, yes, we may stumble at times, His Grace, Blood, Holy Spirit, and Perfection, would all be enough for us to prosper in His commands.

Further, He did not merely add the command to honor our parents for their benefit—and His, as it is His desire—but also so we might be blessed. Because honoring our parents comes with a promise from God! He knew that through all the help and love and grace He gives us that we could fulfill this commandment, and He decided to add a blessing to it beyond that of salvation or righteousness…

When we honor our father and mother we receive the blessing of long life in the land the Lord gives us. It is the FIRST commandment that comes with a blessing, and therefore, is uniquely special—it is uniquely generous of our God!

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”—Deuteronomy 5:16

It is not that we are to honor our parents only to receive the fulfillment of promise, but it is a beautiful reminder of God’s love. It is a beautiful message from God’s heart that brings our attention to a commandment which we might otherwise overlook. After all, putting God first seems obvious when we believe in Him, not committing murder a natural thing, not worshiping idols or building them as being directly connected to putting God first—honoring Him—but to honor our parents… that perhaps appears as a bonus. Something we should get a gold star for instead of it being something that should be engraved upon the tablets of our hearts.

By adding a blessing to this command, God reminds us of the commandment’s importance and ties in the truth of love to it. By displaying His love to us through a blessing, it reminds us of the connection of love with honor.

Takeaway:

Yes, Father’s Day is not commanded in the Word. It is not even mentioned in the Word! However, in its own indirect way, perhaps it is. Because Father’s Day, if we look past the store ads and cheesy cards, is meant to honor fathers; thus, in part, fulfilling a God-given commandment.

True, Father’s Day is merely a single day, and the commandment to honor our parents is meant to be a daily command… but it is an honest reminder to obey God’s commands. If used correctly, Father’s and Mother’s Day have the potential to reset us into honor thinking and action. It can be a catalyst to walking in honor when the busyness of life or our own self-built walls block out such a lifestyle.

So, no matter if we agree or not with aspects of Father’s Day, there are two key elements we can take away from it that are directly in line with God’s heart and Word: honor and love. Keys to God’s heart.

Therefore, this Father’s Day, no matter if we have earthly fathers or not, let us walk in honor and love. Let us love our fathers, biological, adopted, spiritual, and, of course, our Heavenly Father. Let us speak and act with honor to them. And let us not stop when the day is over!

If YOU would like to discover how honor is a missing key in your walk with God, then click HERE to purchase a $0.50 MP3 (audio) download of Curt Landry’s message, “Honor: The Missing Key,” or click HERE to purchase a $1 MP4 (video) download!

If YOU would like to learn about how honoring mothers is also important, then click HERE!

If YOU would like to further explore how Jesus honored His mother, then click HERE!