Honor Your Father and Mother<\/a>.” It addresses many of your questions. But let me then give some further application.<\/p>\nHonoring your parents or your wife’s parents means that you treat them respectfully. When they offer advice, you take the time to listen and consider what they have to offer. It doesn’t imply that you must obey their every whim, but they do have the advantage of experience and you should gain what you can from their experience.<\/p>\n
Honoring one’s parents also means seeing to their needs when they become too old to care for themselves.\u00a0“Honor widows who are really widows. … But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. … If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows<\/i>” (I Timothy 5:3,\u00a08,\u00a016). Your parents cared for you when you were small and helpless. Even as you grew to be able to provide for yourself, your parents frequently stepped in to ease your burdens. Now, when they have grown old and feeble, it is your turn to return the favor. Honor them by making sure they are comfortable in their declining years.<\/p>\n
It doesn’t mean that you must have them living in your home unless you feel this is the best way to fulfill your obligations. You could put her up in an apartment nearby or, if necessary, an assisted living facility where you can regularly check that she is doing well.<\/p>\n
In summary, treat your mother-in-law with respect and dignity. See that she is safe and secure. In her declining years make sure she doesn’t fall prey to hustlers and scams. Call or visit her so she doesn’t feel alone in the world. In other words, care for as you hope to be cared for in your declining years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I have read your many articles regarding children obeying their parents. What is in the Scripture for parents to obey or respect their children? For example, I have been married for nearly 30 years and now my mother-in-law has moved in. She is in her seventies and in good health, but she just can\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[173,1509],"class_list":["post-4120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-family","tag-parents"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37404,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-need-her-parents-blessing-before-marrying\/","url_meta":{"origin":4120,"position":0},"title":"Do you need her parent’s blessing before marrying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am 22, Christian, (raised and worshiping in a non-denominational church of Christ, actually), and have a bit of a conundrum. I apologize for the lengthy staging here. I met the girl I want to marry. She is a baptized Christian, also 22, but was raised in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43658,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-mother-thinks-im-too-young-to-get-married-must-i-obey-her\/","url_meta":{"origin":4120,"position":1},"title":"My mother thinks I’m too young to get married. Must I obey her?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, I am 21 years old, born again and spirit-filled. I'm currently in a relationship with a Christian sister, who is also born again and Spirit-filled. She is 18 years old. Though our relationship is based on the Word of God, we have the don't and the do's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44480,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-mother-in-law-is-unable-to-care-for-herself-but-we-are-not-able-to-take-her-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":4120,"position":2},"title":"My mother-in-law is unable to care for herself, but we are not able to take her in","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I've read the articles available on this subject, but still have some confusion regarding taking care of parents. My mother-in-law legally separated from her husband of thirty years after discovering he created debts, spent all their retirement money, and had a previous marriage and child she didn't know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20136,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-get-my-parents-to-see-that-they-are-enabling-my-sister-to-be-a-drug-user\/","url_meta":{"origin":4120,"position":3},"title":"How do I get my parents to see that they are enabling my sister to be a drug user?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This question is about addiction and enabling and how it relates to the Bible. My sister got pregnant in high school and gave birth to my niece when she was 17 years old. My parents raised the child and formally adopted her. So, legally my niece became my sister.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43709,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-care-for-my-mother-without-involving-my-father\/","url_meta":{"origin":4120,"position":4},"title":"How can I care for my mother without involving my father?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am in my twenties. My mother and father are in their fifties. My mother has worked very hard all her life and deserves that I take care of her finances for retirement. She has never owned a home. Presently, my parents rent a townhome. I want to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42381,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-mother-threatens-not-to-attend-my-wedding-if-i-marry-my-catholic-boyfriend\/","url_meta":{"origin":4120,"position":5},"title":"My mother threatens not to attend my wedding if I marry my Catholic boyfriend","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a 20-year-old daughter and student, currently living with my mother. I have a brother whose age isn't far different than mine. My parents divorced when we were little, and my mother gained custody of both of us. We've been living together since. She is a proud\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}