God our Father has placed the principle of honoring our parents within His 10 commandments Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:15. So we know it’s a highly important matter to Him. Yet its sometimes hard to be certain of exactly what is expected in fulfilling God’s 5th commandment.We’re going to look at what is expected under ideal circumstances... and why. Also, we’ll look at what might be expected under less than ideal circumstances, even rotten circumstances… and why. If one’s parents are among those who live according to the principles of Godly living and we get along well with them, the idea of honor toward parents is more straight forward. When we are young we should obey our parents and pay attention to their instruction and discipline. Later, when we are older, we leave and set up our own household. We then make our own choices and are responsible for those choices. When we marry and have children we then assume the role of parents ourselves. But that does not mean we have no further responsibilities toward our own parents.If our parents become incapable of taking care of themselves through sickness, disability, or the natural decline of old age, we should help and assist them.Whether we are young or old we should never strike our parents in anger or frustration. We should not speak harshly to them. We should not speak about them to others in a manner that is hateful, dismissive, or demeaning. An affectionate, harmonious relationship with your parents certainly makes following God’s command to show honor to parents seem a lot more natural. However, it still requires self control and sacrifice even when you both share the same faith towards God.Related Scriptures: Do obey them – Colossians 3:20, Ephesians 6:1-2 Do submit to their discipline – Hebrews 12:9, Proverbs 13:1 Do provide for them – 1 Timothy 5:4, Matthew 15:3-7 Do Not strike or verbally abuse them – Matthew 15:3-7, Exodus 21:15,17Note: some people point to this as an example of the impracticality and harshness of the scriptures: “if you try to follow this literally every child would end up dead”. How among us has not violated this command in some form as children?Exodus 22:18-21 this is not a punishment for a single infraction rather it is for one who is habitually disobedient. the parents do not take such action into their own hands… they submit the charge to the legal authorities of the community. In that way the act could not be one based on emotion or momentary rage, rather it would have to be a deliberate decision based on evidence. the parents fulfill the role of the 2 witnesses who bring the evidence forward. By law a person who was ever found to be a false witness would bring upon themselves the very punishment they sought to bring upon the accused. Both parents would have to agree that this was the only course of action By the laws of witnessing in a court case if the parents were ever found to be lying they would be the ones put to death instead of their child As the accusing witness(es) the parent would have to cast the first stone only then would the rest of the community also cast their stones. This would be highly emotionally painful and culturally shaming. It would not be an action lightly taken.However, God views habitual disobedience towards parents to be a form of cultural rot that should be cut out of the community like a cancer. Romans 1:29, 1 Timothy 3:2Clearly honoring your mother and father is a big deal to God. The instructions and consequences we have just gone through are based on a scenario involving parents who are themselves leading godly lives and who follow God’s instructions.What About Parents Who Make Bad Choices?Lots of parents out there do not live godly lives. Even parents who try to live according to God’s way can make terrible mistakes. Some people’s parents are abusive, some are neglectful, some are addicts, selfish, foolish, lazy or unfair. Under such circumstances following God’s command to honor parents can seem strange and d