Deut 5:16, “Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” That it may well with thee.

1. A son honours his father. To honour is to respect; to hold in high esteem. We are not talking of physical gesticulation only but deep respect from the heart. You can only learn from someone you admire and respect. You cannot learn from someone you feel superior to.

To qualify for honour, a man must be a man of honour. That is he must be a man of honesty, fairness, or integrity in one’s beliefs and action.

It is difficult to honour a father who does not keep his word, who is wicked and continues to provoke his children to anger through wicked words and criminal neglect or abuse.
It is also difficult to honour a father who is in a cult and practicing witchcraft.
Fathers are to conduct themselves in such a way that their children can honour and obey them.

2. A son does not stop relating with his father. The relationship ends the moment a visitor leaves but a son continues to relate. There are those who have left here but have continued to relate. They call to find out how we are doing. We do the same. When they have challenges, they call to ask for the father’s assistance and God answers them. Those who walk away from their fathers run dry. The prodigal son went away from his father and he ran completely dry until he retraced his steps.

3. A son keeps the family name through good behaviour. A son looks for ways to make his father comfortable and happy.

4. A son looks after the interest of his father’s business. Saul went looking for his father’s lost assess; he ended up becoming the first king of Israel. 1Sa 9:3. The prodigal son’s lack of interest in his father’s business led him to collect his inheritance and walked away; he lost everything and became destitute. Your interest in the growth and development of this ministry identifies you in heaven as a son or otherwise.

5. A son does not criticize his father’s shortcomings but rather protects the father. He does not join others to criticize his father. A son protects, covers and defends his father. To harbour any sort of offence against your spiritual parents is to leave yourself wide open to attack by the devil. Such people dry up progressively and may even die on the long run. One of Noah’s sons did not understand this, he saw his father’s nakedness and instead of covering it, he went about broadcasting it. Gen 9:22. He was supposed to have covered his father up. He got a curse that went to his offspring. He was not even supposed to be looking around for his father’s nakedness. It was his brothers that covered their father without looking at his nakedness. Gen 9:23. You should not be looking for the faults of your father or mother let alone broadcasting it. The bible says honour thy father and mother that it may be well with you and that you may live long in the land which the Lord thy God gives you. It is not well with many believers because they have no deep respect for their spiritual parents. Absalom led a rebellion against his father, he died in the process.

6. A son does not curse or abuse his parents. Pro 20:20, “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.” The light of those who do is extinguished and they end up in hell.

7. A son accepts the correction of his father in good faith. Pro 3:11-12. You are headed for doom if nobody can correct you.

8. A son obeys the instructions of the father. The key to honour is obedience. Disobedience is viewed in heaven as rebellion. A son who constantly disobeys his parents will be cut off from his inheritance. They are to be obeyed only when they lead us in the way of God or in a way consistent with the word of God.

9. A son gives to his father. It is not because God needs money that we give to him; we give to him an offering of worship which authorizes him to bless us with a harvest. This was the principle used by Isaac in blessing the firstborn. Gen 27:10, “And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.”

Bless them; take good care of them. Make sure they are comfortable. Buy him a car if you can afford it. Do not neglect them in old age.
Pray for them to live long and in good health. If you pray for them to be healthy, they will not fall sick. Don’t wait for them to fall sick before you start running around praying for healing and rushing from one hospital to another.

Benefits Of Honouring Your Father

1. Long life. Those who refuse to honour their father or mother run the risk of dying young.
2. All round well being. That it may be well with thee.
3. You enjoy the blessing of the father. It bestows inheritance. Fathers lay up inheritance for their children. You have no right of inheritance if you a visitor. A servant is rewarded for the work they do, but a son receives the reward of the father’s work.