Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
—Exodus 20:12
In the Ten Commandments, the first four commandments have reference to God, and the last five to our neighbors. In between stands the fifth commandment. It is linked to the first four, because to the young child the parent takes the place of God. From the parent this child must learn to trust and obey his God. The fifth commandment is the transition to the last five, because the family is the foundation of society. As the training school for all our relationships with God and man, this commandment lies at the foundation of all divine and human law.
Of the ten, this one is especially the children’s commandment. For this reason it is especially the parent’s commandment. A wise ruler makes good subjects and a firm commander forms faithful soldiers. The children’s fulfillment of this precept depends on the parent’s character. This leads us to consider what parents must be life if they are to succeed in training their children to honor them.
Excerpt taken from Raising your Children for Christ by Andrew Murray. This excerpt can be found in Chapter 13. Public Domain.