The fifth commandment that the Lord gave through the prophet Moses was: “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” (Ex. 20:12.)

also, in the New Testament it says your father and mother will forsake you. I didn’t understand the concept of this since they are both extremes and didn’t align, until it made sense. The following verses from varies books of the bible indicate the difference.  

“When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up”

Psalm 27:10

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”

Matthew 19:29

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:25-27

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Honor: have high respect, great esteem. regard with great respect. fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an agreement).

Father: a man in relation to his child or children. (often as a title or form of address) a priest. (of a man) cause a pregnancy resulting in the birth of (a child).

Mother: a woman in relation to her child or children. bring up (a child) with care and affection. give birth to.

To honor them is to be grateful to them and not resent them. Even if they were not the ideal parents. No matter how evil they may have been, to let go of any resentment is to be grateful. When you are grateful for what you have and what God provided for you, resentment will leave your heart.  As darkness is the absence of light, so is resentment is the absence of gratitude.

When I was saved, it was a big deal for my family especially my mother since they are Muslim. I didn’t understand and I felt insecure when I read the 5^th commandment in genesis. I felt I wasn’t worthy enough because I didn’t have a good relationship with my parents. When I went to the New Testament and I read what God had said, it still didn’t make senesce to me since its contradicting the 5^th commandment. Today I learned what resentment is.

Resentment: bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly.

Gratitude/Contentment: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. a state of happiness and satisfaction.

When you hold on to bitterness and not letting go of the past pains you become more in pain and thus more bitter.

Being grateful is to show your appreciation of what you have instead of what wasn’t. To understand that you can move forward with the things that are working in your life, instead of the things that did not and is not. Thus, leading to contentment and that is happiness.

Letting go is the first sign of gratitude and slowly the absence of resentment.  

I am grateful for the things my parents have done for me. They fought hard in their relationship and in life, to bring me to Canada and have a better opportunities and quality of life. Even if my beliefs don’t align with theirs, I shouldn’t lead my thoughts about them with resentment but with gratitude.

I was 17 years old when I realized that my parents were just as lost as I was in life, they didn’t know what they were doing and from there on I saw them as people not parents. People that didn’t have love growing up, people that looked at love as weakness and feelings where not of our culture. To be strong and hold yourself up no matter what storm may come. But we must admit to ourselves that we are weak, we are in pain, we are lonely and feel unloved. No matter how much you try to ignore it, it will be a wall you will have to face eventually because you cannot grow or understand, and your life will eventually fall apart.  

I grew up holding back my tears because it was a sign of weakness but now, I am grown up, I let myself cry even if it’s a sad cartoon movie.

Letting go is the best part of growing up. You want to let go of the past pain to receive the blessings of the future.

I still have not spoken to my parents in 3 years, however once I do. I will write more about it so they can understand that I am grateful to them, but I am also letting go of resentment and I forgive them for all the pain they caused me and I am receiving the blessings of the Lord as he is Love.