Honoring Your Father, Stariana W.

Honoring Your Father

Stariana W.

            Father’s Day is this Sunday. Now is a good time to take a close look at how we treat our fathers. Do we follow what the Bible says? Do we actually honor him, or do we fake it and convince ourselves it is real?

            What does the Bible say about honoring our fathers?  Exodus 20:12 says “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (KJV) Well, honoring means to respect not only with our actions, but also with our attitude.

Honor. Honor your father. Honoring means to respect him.  Honor by treating him with respect. While most kids now are disrespectful and hateful to their fathers, let us be different. How? We must first start with ourselves. We cannot honor anyone if we have problems with our attitude. The way we respond when he tells us “no” or that we can’t wear something or anything else is also very important. Instead of feeling sad and put upon and putting him on a guilt trip, accept what he says. It is not always easy, but this is an important step to becoming the woman God wants you to be.

Respectful. Are we respectful? Respectful, by definition, means “to esteem.” Being respectful to our dad may not be always easy. Dads and their daughters, especially teenagers, think very differently. We should express appreciation for what he does and for his protection and his providing for you. A lot of dads work in places where they do not really like it and people are not always nice to them. Their daughter’s appreciation can mean a lot to them.

Submitting. What does that mean exactly? It is accepting the authority or will of another person. Accepting his authority is also very hard, but the Bible tells us to submit. Nobody likes being always told what to do. But since we are to submit, we must do just that. We must obey our fathers.

Attitude. When we submit with our actions, do we do it with a willing heart? Attitude is the most important aspect of submitting. Without a good attitude, we really are not submitting. We need to look into our hearts and see if we have a servant’s heart. Without one, we are not really obeying God’s Word.  

Prayer. A father desperately needs his family to pray for him. We need to pray that God will give him courage and that we may always honor him with our actions.

Honoring, respecting, submitting, having a good attitude, and praying are hard to do. But, if we want to become the women God wants us to, then we must do according to his word. By doing this and changing ourselves, we are becoming women of God.

Hebrews 13:17 KJV - Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is] unprofitable for you.