Honoring Dependent Parents: Biblical Decision-Making for Adult Children

by William Clifford Davis

Elder and ethicist Bill Davis presents biblical principles, case studies, and practical advice for Christians who seek to honor aging parents who have become cognitively altered, physically frail, or emotionally needy.

240 pages, Paperback

Published June 17, 2026

Reviews

[Cameron Barham]

“The loss of independence changes the relationship between parents and their children. It is tempting to think that dependent parents with needs like those of younger children should be treated like children. But this would not honor them in the way God’s Word intends.”, p. 157

[Rev. House · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago, a homeless woman who occasionally attended the church I serve as pastor went into the hospital for what was clearly her final days. After countless attempts to locate and contact family for her were unsuccessful, the doctors looked to me to help them make decisions about her end-of-life care. It was quite difficult for me to separate out what my personal preferences would be, as compared to what I believed the woman’s preferences might be. She was also delusional and paranoid, and I didn’t know how to determine what her wishes would be, were she in her right mind. It was a challenging time, and thankfully just a few days before her death, we were able to make contact with a family member who was willing to attend to her needs and decisions.

But in the midst of this time of tumultuous decision-making, a congregation member pointed me to Atul Gawande’s fantastic book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, which helped me to think through some of the important issues around end-of-life care. But Gawande’s book, though open to spiritual considerations, was not written from an intentionally Biblical point of view, so I searched for a good book on end-of-life care from a Christian perspective. It was in that context that I found Bill Davis’ first book, Departing in Peace: Biblical Decision-Making at the End of Life. It was a godsend, underlining some of Gawande’s points, and expanding my thinking with good, Biblical ethics advice.

So it was with great joy that I learned that Davis had completed a second book, Honoring Dependent Parents: Biblical Decision-Making for Adult Children.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I learned about the book from P&R Publishing, who reached out to me on Dr. Davis’ behalf, offering to send me a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. This is that honest review.

The book comes to me at an opportune time, as my own mother is a dependent in my care, and since Christmas, decisions about her care, housing, and other concerns have been my constant companions. I have been struggling with many of the decisions before me, and Dr. Davis’ book truly helped me in both my mindset and my approach to my mom’s care.

Short take: Honoring Dependent Parents is a fantastic book, that was well worth my time to read, raising many important questions that have already helped me in my own care for my Mom. However, one strong emphasis in the book, though helpful, did not take into account some important considerations that should have led Dr. Davis to slightly different conclusions.

Read my full detailed review on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/denesho...

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a daughter who cared for her mother for over 15 years and as a facilitator of caregiver support groups I greatly valued Dr. Davis's look at Biblical teaching and principles applied to complicated situations of caring for parents in decline. Dr. Davis captures the many nuances of caring for a parent and their growing physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual needs in sharing many real-life situations and how to approach them while still honoring, defending and encouraging our parents. Davis also addresses today's cultural beliefs that shape our approaches and points back to God's original design for family members caring for one another. Davis encourages adult children to think through their own preferences for how they want to be cared for and to record them for their children or caregivers.