My Parents Are Against My Faith

คำตอบอย่างเป็นทางการ 2026-08-22

Something that may lighten the load first: this is not your failure and not a sign you handled it badly. Jesus said plainly that following him would sometimes create tension at home. He was not encouraging conflict; he was warning disciples of the cost in advance so they would not assume they had ruined something. But the command to honour your father and mother is not cancelled by that — it is in the Ten Commandments and repeated in the New Testament. So the task is not choosing between them; it is doing two hard things at once. Practically. Distinguish obedience from honour. Honour is continuous: respect, care, the tone you use, never embarrassing them in front of others. Obedience has a limit on this one matter, because faith is the single thing you cannot decide on their behalf. That distinction unties a great many knots. Argue less and serve more. In this kind of conflict the persuasive thing is never the argument. Parents watch you far longer than they listen to you, and whether you have become more patient, more present, more dependable is something they can see better than anyone. Many people find their parents accept the changed person long before they accept the faith. Do not start debates at festivals or family meals. Choose a quiet moment, say what is in your heart once, then stop and let time do the rest. And notice what they are actually afraid of. In Chinese families the issue is rarely doctrine; it is will he stop caring for us, what about the ancestors, has he been taken in by someone. Those fears need answering, not refuting. Finally: this usually moves in years, not months. Do not judge by a few months of progress. The time you spend praying for them will likely do more than the time you spend arguing with them.