Every family is weird in its own special way, and every family fights.
No matter what we fight about or how we fight about it, family fights are hard. They often hurt us more than we want to admit.
We can never change our parents and we can never leave them.
We can change how we react to them.
TRUTH:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’--which is the first commandment with a promise--‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth’” (Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV).
The quality and even the length of our lives depends on how we treat our parents.
APPLICATION:
We are called to honor our parents no matter what.
For some of you this may be easy. For others it is more difficult.
You cannot be your parent’s parent. You cannot discipline them until they behave the way you think they should. You can only choose to fight for a relationship regardless of their actions and words, and honor them in spite of their decisions.
LANDING:
What does honor look like for you? How can you honor your mom and your dad tonight as you go home? How can you continue to honor them throughout the week?
Bottom Line: Honor opens the door to relationship.