"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). One of the Ten Commandments concerns the relationships between parents and children. And that relationship will affect the lives of the children—whether they live "long" or not.

With Mother's Day last month and Father's Day in June, we are reminded of the need to honor our fathers and our mothers.

I know some have not had good experiences with either one or both parents. I'm truly sorry if you did not have a positive experience, but perhaps you may still be able to apply some of these points.

How may all of us "children" show honor and respect to our parents?

1. Listen to your parents. This is especially important for younger children still in the home. But even when we are on our own, it is still important to listen to the advice of our parents and then make our decisions. Remember, our parents have usually had more experiences with life than we have had. They also usually know us better than anyone else (Proverbs 1:8).

2. Ask your parents questions about themselves. Children would do well to ask their parents about how things were when they were younger so they can learn about times and circumstances in their parents' generation. This really helps children to relate to their parents (Exodus 12:26).

3. Think and thank. We can remember special occasions like their anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Thanksgiving with cards, gifts, flowers and words of how grateful we are to have parents like them. How thankful we should be to them for giving us physical life (John 11:41).

4. Determine to succeed. When we are successful in marriage, vocation, education and in life, we bring honor to our parents. I've sat with many parents and watched them "glow" as they told me how pleased they were with how their children were doing in life. If we determine to do the best we can in life, with God's help, we will honor our parents and our God (Proverbs 10:1).

5. Love our parents. Love requires action. It's not enough just to think nice thoughts about our parents. We need to let them know we love them with hugs, kisses and doing things for them. Remember, love is an outgoing concern for others and is important in both words and deeds. Parents know when they feel loved and cared for (Genesis 46:29; 47:12).

So let's remember to "turn our hearts" to honoring and respecting our parents, not only when reminded by Mother's or Father's Day, but regularly throughout the years (Malachi 4:6). Then may we be blessed with not only a long life in the flesh, but for all eternity.