The 5th Commandment has been reiterated by the Letter of Paul to the Colossians, “Children, obey your parents in everything, because that pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20 Christian Community Bible).
In the olden days of the Hebrews, the father and the mother are the epitomes of authority in the family; and so with the elders in their tribes. It was literally a positive command to give the respect that they deserve. In the opposite, to do the negative, that is, to disrespect them even meant death during those times. Such was the strict imposition of the commandment that it was literally followed. Nonetheless, this methodology somehow brought about favorable results in the social and ethical dimensions. However, honor and obedience are two different things. Obedience to parents has certain limitations. Should children obey abusive parents if they tell them to do illegal and evil things? Surely, they should not obey. If abusive parents were to be honored, it would be honoring their abusive and evil ways as well (luke173ministries.org, par. 1). This is the non-action that is envisioned by the 5th commandment. Don Wilton (2013) said, “Pray for your parents” (billygraham.org, par. 4).
Cultural and social differences affect the way we follow this 5th commandment. For instance, due to some factors like career, professional status, or industrializations, people in certain cultures leave behind aging parents in centers for the aged. Their reason is that they do not have any more time to care for them because of their busy life. What they do is to entrust them to an agency, like Home for the Aged.
References
GotQuestions.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.gotquestions.org/honor-father-mother.html
Is God Really Telling Us To Honor Abusive Parents? (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.luke173ministries.org/537996
Honor Your Mother and Your Father. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/june-2013/honor-your-mother-and-your-father/
