Respecting your parents feels difficult when they’ve hurt you, disappointed you, or made decisions you don’t agree with. Maybe they weren’t perfect, maybe they failed you in significant ways, or maybe you’ve grown up and now see their flaws clearly.
You struggle with honoring people who didn’t always honor you, obeying when you’re old enough to think for yourself, or showing respect when you feel they don’t deserve it. The command to honor your parents feels impossible when the relationship is strained, broken, or complicated.
God’s command to honor your parents isn’t conditional on them being perfect. It’s about your character, not their performance. These verses reveal that respecting your parents brings blessing, that it’s the first commandment with a promise, and that how you treat them reflects your relationship with God.
This doesn’t mean accepting abuse or blindly obeying ungodly instructions. It means treating them with dignity, speaking respectfully even when you disagree, and honoring the position God gave them in your life. Respect is possible even when the relationship isn’t perfect.
Bible Verses About Respecting Parents
1. Exodus 20:12 – Honor Your Father and Your Mother
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
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2. Ephesians 6:1-3 – Children, Obey Your Parents in the Lord
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—”so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
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3. Leviticus 19:3 – Each of You Must Respect Your Mother and Father
Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
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4. Proverbs 1:8-9 – Listen, My Son, to Your Father’s Instruction
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
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5. Colossians 3:20 – Children, Obey Your Parents in Everything
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
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6. Proverbs 23:22 – Listen to Your Father, Who Gave You Life
Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
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7. Deuteronomy 5:16 – Honor Your Father and Your Mother
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
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8. Proverbs 30:17 – The Eye That Mocks a Father
The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.
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9. Matthew 15:4 – Honor Your Father and Mother
For God said, “Honor your father and mother” and “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.”
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10. Proverbs 20:20 – If Someone Curses Their Father or Mother
If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
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11. Proverbs 19:26 – Whoever Robs Their Father and Drives Out Their Mother
Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
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12. 1 Timothy 5:4 – Put Their Religion Into Practice by Caring for Their Own Family
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
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13. Proverbs 6:20 – My Son, Keep Your Father’s Command
My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
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14. Proverbs 15:20 – A Wise Son Brings Joy to His Father
A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
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15. Mark 7:10-13 – Moses Said, “Honor Your Father and Mother”
For Moses said, “Honor your father and mother,” and, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.
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16. Proverbs 28:24 – Whoever Robs Their Father or Mother
Whoever robs their father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is partner to one who destroys.
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17. Proverbs 13:1 – A Wise Son Heeds His Father’s Instruction
A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.
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18. Proverbs 10:1 – A Wise Son Brings Joy to His Father
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.
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19. Proverbs 23:24-25 – May Your Father and Mother Rejoice
The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!
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20. Deuteronomy 27:16 – Cursed Is Anyone Who Dishonors Their Father or Mother
Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother. Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
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21. Proverbs 17:6 – Parents Are the Pride of Their Children
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.
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22. Luke 2:51 – He Was Obedient to Them
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
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23. Proverbs 15:5 – A Fool Spurns a Parent’s Discipline
A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.
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24. Genesis 9:22-25 – Cursed Be Canaan
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”
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25. 1 Timothy 5:8 – Anyone Who Does Not Provide for Their Relatives
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
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26. Proverbs 29:15 – A Child Left Undisciplined Disgraces Its Mother
A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.
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27. Proverbs 30:11 – There Are Those Who Curse Their Fathers
There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
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28. Matthew 19:19 – Honor Your Father and Mother
Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.
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29. 2 Timothy 3:2 – People Will Be Disobedient to Their Parents
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.
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30. Proverbs 4:1-2 – Listen, My Sons, to a Father’s Instruction
Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.
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31. Proverbs 17:25 – A Foolish Son Brings Grief to His Father
A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him.
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32. John 19:26-27 – Woman, Here Is Your Son
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
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33. Proverbs 19:27 – Stop Listening to Instruction, My Son
Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
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34. Proverbs 31:28 – Her Children Arise and Call Her Blessed
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
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35. Malachi 1:6 – A Son Honors His Father
A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord Almighty.
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Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Respecting Parents
Honoring your parents is the first commandment with a promise attached: that it may go well with you and that you may live long. God takes this seriously because how you treat your parents reveals your character and impacts your future.
This doesn’t mean your parents were perfect or that you must agree with everything they did. It means you treat them with dignity, speak respectfully even when you disagree, and care for them as they age.
What’s challenging is honoring imperfect parents. Some parents were absent, abusive, or deeply flawed. God still calls you to respect the position, even when the person failed. That might mean setting healthy boundaries while still speaking with honor. It might mean forgiving them for your sake, not theirs. It might mean helping them financially while limiting other contact.
Honoring parents doesn’t require pretending abuse didn’t happen or enabling destructive behavior. It means refusing to become bitter, speaking about them with dignity, and trusting God to handle what you can’t fix. Your obedience to this command is about your relationship with God, not just your relationship with them.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, respecting my parents is difficult when the relationship is complicated. I struggle with honoring people who weren’t perfect, who hurt me, or who made decisions I don’t agree with. Help me to see this command as about my character, not just their performance.
Give me wisdom to know how to honor them in ways that are healthy and appropriate for our situation. Help me to speak respectfully even when I disagree, to set boundaries without disrespect, and to care for them as they age, even when it’s inconvenient.
Heal the wounds from ways they’ve failed me. Help me to forgive for my sake, not to condone what was wrong, but to free myself from bitterness. Show me how to honor the position You gave them in my life without enabling destructive behavior or pretending abuse didn’t happen.
Thank You for Your grace when my parents weren’t perfect and for Your patience when I fail to honor them as I should. Help me to obey this command in ways that please You and bring blessing to my life.
In Jesus’ Gracious Name, Amen.