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Ask Pastor John

Loving Aging Parents Well

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

John Piper, Unknown, 163859, Pastor, Ask, Theology, Desiring God, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.83.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How can we love our aging parents through the many challenges of caregiving? Pastor John shares counsel from Scripture and personal experience.

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:39.3

You can make that gift or set up monthly giving right now at give.desiringgod.org. That's give.desiring godorg.

0:48.3

We would be delighted to share the joy of ministry with you and because of you.

0:56.6

It really is precious.

0:57.7

And today we talk to the children of aging parents.

1:00.3

How do we honor aging parents when that labor feels overwhelming and oftentimes thankless?

1:07.3

Today, Pastor John shares key insights from scripture and likely some stories from his own life on how to balance responsibility and love and how to find help from the wider church family as we care for parents who are growing old and maybe not growing old gracefully.

1:23.6

Pastor John, we get there through a hard email from a listener named Jan.

1:28.4

Hello, Pastor John, I'm 41 years a hard email from a listener named Jan. Hello, Pastor John,

1:33.8

I'm 41 years old, married for 15 years. For most of my adult life and marriage, my mother has lived with me and I have cared for her as she's aged. There were seasons where she helped, but she's now

1:41.0

in a place of entitlement, no longer physically or financially able or willing to help.

1:46.8

All throughout my life, I have endured physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse from her and now in her 70s.

1:55.0

She is even more emotionally and mentally abusive than ever before.

1:58.9

I have reached a point where I feel I can no longer care for her,

2:02.4

and my younger children and husband are emotionally and mentally exhausted by all of this too.

2:09.2

However, I fear that if I remove her from her home, her situation could worsen. She is also a

2:15.0

believer. What does the Bible say about caring for or living with an abusive elderly parent, especially when trying to balance, honoring them with protecting my family's well-being?

...

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