Parents are a blessing from God, given the responsibility to nurture, teach, and guide their children. However, as human beings, parents are not perfect and can make mistakes. Even with the best intentions, they can sometimes be wrong in their decisions, actions, or attitudes.
The Bible teaches that while children should honor their parents, parents also have a duty to lead with wisdom, fairness, and love. When parents act in ways that are unjust or unbiblical, it is important to respond with humility and discernment. God calls both parents and children to seek His wisdom and correction when needed.
Honoring parents does not mean ignoring their faults but praying for them and approaching disagreements with love and respect. These Bible verses provide wisdom on handling situations when parents are wrong and how to navigate these challenges biblically.
Bible Verses About Parents Being Wrong
1. Ephesians 6:4
“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
2. Colossians 3:21
“Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
3. Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
4. Exodus 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
5. Proverbs 29:15
“The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”
6. Malachi 4:6
“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
7. Deuteronomy 6:6-7
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
8. Proverbs 13:24
“He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”
9. Hebrews 12:11
“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
10. 1 Samuel 2:29
“Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?”
11. Matthew 10:37
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
12. Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”
13. 2 Timothy 3:2-3
“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good.”
14. Deuteronomy 21:18-19
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city.”
15. Proverbs 20:20
“Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness.”
16. Matthew 15:4
“For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’”
17. Mark 7:9-10
“He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’”
18. Proverbs 23:22
“Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
19. Genesis 18:19
“For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.”
20. Romans 12:17-18
“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
21. Proverbs 1:8-9
“My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.”
22. 1 Peter 5:5
“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”
23. 1 Timothy 5:8
“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.”
24. Deuteronomy 5:16
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
25. Galatians 6:1
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
26. Proverbs 17:6
“Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father.”
27. Psalm 127:3
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”
28. Leviticus 19:32
“You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.”
29. Romans 13:1
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”
30. Proverbs 22:15
“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.”
31. Matthew 23:9
“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.”
32. Ezekiel 18:20
“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
33. Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
34. Ephesians 5:1-2
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
35. Jeremiah 31:29-30
“In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.”
Our Thought on What the Bible Says About Parents Being Wrong
The Bible acknowledges that while parents have authority over their children, they are not exempt from making mistakes. God’s Word calls parents to lead with love, discipline with wisdom, and teach with righteousness. However, when they fail to do so, children are encouraged to respond with respect, patience, and prayer.
God’s ultimate authority surpasses earthly parental guidance. When parents are wrong—whether in discipline, decisions, or values—children must seek wisdom from God, ensuring their actions align with His truth. Disobedience to parents is condemned when it comes from rebellion, but if parents act contrary to God’s Word, the child must honor God first.
The role of both parents and children is to grow in humility, seek truth, and pursue peace. Parents must admit mistakes, and children must forgive. The relationship between a parent and child should mirror God’s love, patience, and correction. With prayer, wisdom, and biblical guidance, any broken relationship can be restored.