The fifth commandment links the first four commandments with the last six by requiring honor for father and mother. Truly honoring one's parents is perpetually coupled with obeying and revering God, for it is by learning to honor parents that one first comes to understand how to approach God. God pronounces a curse on those who break the fifth commandment. Ham dishonored his father Noah while his brothers honored their father, and a curse fell on Canaan as a result of this sin. This commandment was in effect long before Moses received the Ten Commandments. Striking or cursing one's parent is a serious offense. Solomon recorded instructions about respecting parents. The relationship of children to their parents is a type of the spiritual relationship between true Christians and God. Without a loving attitude toward parents, it is impossible to love God truly. God emphasizes that obeying the fifth commandment will prolong lives, and the apostle Paul also stated this. Obeying this commandment automatically builds habits and character that promote long life. Children dishonor their parents through stubbornness, mocking, scorning, angrily talking back to them, thievery and violence. These actions will eventually be punished by death, shame, disgrace, darkness of understanding and destruction. The scribes and Pharisees perverted obedience to this commandment through greedy human reasoning that encouraged financial neglect of parents. There is a limit to the love and honor shown to parents if such love interferes with worshiping and obeying God properly. Even so, one should never cease to honor parents. Honor indicates a high respect for their worth, high esteem and reverence. Without this, proper reverence for God is impossible. Just as parents corrected their children, so also God corrects His people. Widows are to be treated with care by their children. A person who has properly obeyed his parents in childhood later expresses his honor for them in a deeper appreciation of the comforts and training they provided. This honor expresses itself in courtesy, thoughtfulness and kind deeds. Any parent, especially a widowed parent, should be repaid by his children for the care given them as they grew up. Even in His dying moments, while suffering an agonizing death, Jesus honored and loved His mother by making provision for her care after His death. God is well pleased when this vital commandment is obeyed.

The fifth commandment requires children to honor their father and mother. This produces long life and prosperity for those who keep it. Honor indicates a lifelong responsibility to give parents high regard, esteem, special recognition, respect, and credit through outward acts that manifest these attitudes. Respect means treating parents with propriety and consideration while regarding them as inviolable. Reverence means showing deferential respect with adoration and awe. The commandment is the first one with promise and is aimed primarily at the function of parenting. Its spirit also requires honor and respect for civil authorities and teaching figures. The family forms the basic building block of society and of government. Stability in the family produces stability in the community. Dishonoring parents leads to immaturity, self-centeredness, resistance to all authority, and anarchy that spreads from the family into the community. The family also forms the basic building block of the Kingdom of God. Parents serve as God's agents to prepare children for that Kingdom by pointing them toward reverence for Him. God wants parents to produce children who possess reverence and love for Him. The commandment requires children to obey parents in the Lord. This obedience is limited to what aligns with God's way of life. At marriage the weighty responsibility to honor parents shifts to the spouse. Fathers must not provoke children to wrath or exasperation. They must instead bring children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord through consistent instruction, discipline, and verbal warning.

Honoring parents should be an ongoing activity. Honoring parents and children comes from the last six commandments that deal with relationships to other people. A society built on a solid family unit where Dad and Mom are honored will be a society that will likely also obey the last five commandments. Honoring others comes easier when children are raised to honor their parents. Likewise a society that honors its parents will conduct itself honorably. The fifth commandment reads honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. God states no qualifier and does not tell us to honor them only if they are honorable. Simply because they are our parents we must treat them with respect. In the New Testament Paul repeats the command again without reservation. Jesus makes it clear several times that He honors His Father. Honoring parents can be very difficult if Father is a drunk or Mother is a lying thief. Their actions may sometimes be dishonorable but because they are Dad and Mom they are to be respected. The commandment has no loopholes. In turn parents are not to provoke their children but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Our heavenly Father sets the example by publicly honoring His Son more than once. Jesus preaches a heartwarming passage of the closeness He has with His Father and the mutual respect and honor that is present in their relationship. Our heavenly Father honors His Son and expects us to honor Him also. All older people should be honored as well. The command reads you shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man and fear your God. God includes no reservations or qualifiers. God says this should happen. Even more important than this honorific action is the attitude of respect for the older generation.