Unconditional Honor

1 Kings 2:19
“Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.”

An amazing and critical lesson is taught in the verse above that every person must remember if they want God to bless their lives. Solomon had only been king for a short time. His older brother, Adonijah, who was the apparent heir of the throne, came to Bathsheba to ask her if she would go to Solomon and ask him if Abishag could be given to him to be his wife. Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, entered the palace as Solomon sat on his throne, and instead of Bathsheba bowing to the king, the king rose from his throne to bow to his mother.

The honor and respect that Solomon had for his mother is something that every person should have for their parents. Even though it was the proper thing for Bathsheba to bow to the king, Solomon had so much respect for his mother that he chose to honor her by bowing to her. Solomon never let the prominence of his throne and the power that he held to stop him from honoring his mother. He understood that he would have never gotten to the throne had it not been for his mother’s investment in his life.

It seems as if we live in times when it is a popular thing to dishonor one’s parents because a child doesn’t agree with how their parents have raised them, or how their parents conducted their business. The Scriptures are still very clear about the command for children to honor their parents. Exodus 20:12 says, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” God reiterates this command in Ephesians 6:2 when He says, “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)” Let me give you a couple of thoughts about the importance of honoring your parents.

First, honoring your parents has nothing to do with whether they are serving the LORD. God never said to honor your parents because they are doing what you think they are supposed to be doing, but His command to honor your parents is without any conditions. There is NO excuse for anyone to dishonor their parents for ANY reason.

Second, you cannot be right with God and dishonor your parents at the same time. The honor you give to your parents reveals the mindset you have about yourself towards God. I have found that those who dishonor their parents have a high mindset of themselves; a mindset that though they won’t say it, they have set themselves up as God in their own minds. Honoring your parents has more to do with you keeping a proper perspective of yourself in regards to God. If you dishonor your parents, you are telling God that you know better than He about the actions and attitudes of a child towards their parents.

Third, your prominence or position does not give you an excuse to dishonor your parents. No matter how high you rise in power and prominence, NEVER get so big that you stop honoring your parents. If anything, you should use your prominence and power to honor your parents in a greater way. My friend, little people dishonor their parents. Great people always honor their parents and never forget that they wouldn’t have gotten to where they are without them.

Author: Allen Domelle