The Westminster Shorter Catechism offers the following exposition of the fifth commandment.

“Q. 63. Which is the fifth commandment?  A. The fifth commandment is, ‘Honour thy father and thy mother:  that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’

“Q. 64. What is required in the fifth commandment?  A. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.

“Q. 65. What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?  A. The fifth commandment forbiddeth the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongeth to everyone in their several places and relations.

“Q. 66. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?  A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God’s glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.”

That we are to honor our parents is perfectly clear from this commandment; however, the Westminster Divines pushed past honoring parents to honoring “everyone in their several places and relations.”  The Westminster application of course increases the weight of the fifth commandment.  In many ways, Michael Horton’s treatment of this command parallels the Westminster Divines treatment, but Horton, writing a book, had more room to develop the argument for this broader understanding of the fifth commandment.

Horton approaches his argument, in part, by unpacking the family table found in Ephesians 6.  In dealing with Ephesians 6.6-8 he writes, “To serve our earthly superiors is to serve our heavenly Superior; therefore, our attention, efficiency, and diligence are to be motivated not by whether the boss shows enough respect for our work, but by the fact that God our heavenly Father is pleased when we help build a good car or house, use our time at work efficiently, or read and pray with our family.  We can endure many of the frustrations of working conditions when we realize that the dignity of our work is measured by God’s satisfaction, not merely by our employer’s” (Horton, 138).  Following this exposition, Horton goes on to deal with the Youthism, Nowism, Pretentiousness, and Me-ism that plague our culture and rail against honoring others, especially elders.  Essentially, in each of these sections, Dr. Horton is saying we need to get over ourselves.  Whether we are talking about honoring our parents, boss, friends, or anyone else humility is required.