Man will always try to put your parents in a dishonorable position. The world does not see things the way God does. But God put it next in place to honoring God in the 10 Commandments. 
““Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12 NLT
““Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.””
Ephesians 6:2-3 NLT
Whether our parents are Christians or not Christians we are never excused from treating our parents dishonorably.
“For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.””
Mark 7:10-13 NLT
Jesus emphasized honoring parents, directly citing the commandment to "Honor your father and mother" (Matthew 15:4, 19:19). He defined this as a duty of love and care, explicitly condemning the use of religious tradition (like "Corban") to avoid providing financial or practical support to them.
Key points on how Jesus taught to treat parents:
Active Honor and Support:
Jesus highlighted that honoring parents involves practical care, not just respectful words.
He criticized the Pharisees for allowing people to say their money was dedicated to God, rather than using it to help their aging parents, calling this a violation of God’s command.
Respect and Obedience:
He reinforced the Mosaic Law, emphasizing that cursing one's parents is a severe offense.
Primary Allegiance to God: In a difficult saying, Jesus stated that followers must "hate" father and mother in comparison to their love for him, which is interpreted as prioritizing devotion to God above all human relationships.
Context of Authority:
While commanding respect, Jesus clarified that human authorities, including parents, are secondary to God's authority.
While the command to honor parents is paramount, it is often interpreted within the context of Christian love and, when necessary, setting boundaries with toxic or abusive behavior while maintaining an attitude of respect.
It is not a gift for you to treat your parents with respect and honor. It is your Christian duty.
It’s one thing to see people who are not Christians treat their parents with distain, but I cannot in my wildest dreams figure out how anyone who is a Christian can reconcile their minds with it being OK to speak to their parents in a harsh and demeaning tone or treat them disrespectfully in any way, whether their parents are Christians or not Christians.
My mother was not a Christian, and I cannot say that my life at home growing up was 100% what it should have been, nor what I wanted it to be, but when I became a Christian God convicted me to treat my mother with as much respect as I could. At times, it was very difficult. But I was determined to show her as much love and respect as I could, so that I could win her to Jesus.
Even though my mother ridiculed how I raised my children in the church, disagreed with my Christian lifestyle, and was many times critical of me in general, I kept loving her and did things for her, and even financially helped her through everything she went through in life. I never ever cut her off or spoke evil of her to my children or grandchildren. I taught them to honor her.
In the end, after 20 years of prayer, fasting, and showing the love of God to my mother, she was eventually baptized in Jesus name and filled with the Holy Ghost and died loving Christ and calling on his name. I lived to see the day that she recanted everything she ever said to me about how I raised my children and came to love the Lord as much as I do.
I can’t imagine if I had treated her with some of the distain that I am seeing coming from so-called Christian individuals toward their parents today. What would’ve happened to my mother and where would she be today if I had treated her disrespectfully? I shudder to think. I know one thing, she would’ve never seen Jesus in me. I definitely could have been responsible for her ending up eternally separated from God, and never knowing his love.
As Christans, it is our responsibility to obey the word of God by honoring and respecting our parents the way the Lord has instructed us to do, no matter if we agree with them or not. Their position merits our respect, not their actions. We are to leave the judgment of their actions to the Lord. The Lord is able to change their hearts if we will put on the spirit of Christ and let him show Christ to them through us. Change will never come any other way. And who knows, we might just find out in the process that it’s our own heart that needs changing.
