My father has been the most distant man in my whole life after he and my mother
divorced when I was a small child. Over the years he has broken promise after
promise. He even used my credit history to obtain utilities during the ten years he never contacted me. Of course he denied everything, but I know he did it. Am I being sinful by cutting all ties and disowning my him after he has failed to come clean?
The Lord didn’t mention any standards our fathers have to achieve or maintain to be deserving of our honor, perhaps because He knew so many fathers would fail to qualify. Therefore He made it a positional issue not a behavioral one. Also, unlike the other commandments, we’re promised a reward for keeping this one (Exodus 20:12). If you can’t honor your father out of respect for him, then do it out of obedience to God.