Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
"Honor your father and mother" - which is the first
commandment with a promise - "that it may go well with you
and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do
not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
training and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-4
"Honor your father and mother" - which is the first
commandment with a promise - "that it may go well with you
and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do
not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
training and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-4
This one pokes fun at us young folk...and a lot of older folks too. We are told to honor our father and mother. Why? So that we may enjoy long life on the earth. Is it that simple? Pretty much. The Bible is clear that we are to respect our elders and those placed in authority over us. This holds especially true for our relationships with our parents.
Our main job as children is to obey our parents. Our parent's main job should be to teach us about God, show us how important having a personal relationship with God truly is, and set an example for how a godly person should act and carry themselves on a daily basis both inside and outside of the home. (Obviously parents have other jobs and responsibilities, but for the sake of this post, these are the ones I am focusing on...yer dig?)
This doesn't always happen. Many parents don't have a personal relationship with the Lord and therefore they do not know how to relay the importance of having a relationship with God to their children. In this case, we have to hope and pray that a Christian friend, church member, or family member will step in and plant the seed in the family's life. In cases like these, the child that learns about God can be a major influence on the parent's life by displaying the Christian lifestyle to his or her parents. I feel like I have branched off into another topic here (oops).
Anyway...we are supposed to obey our parents. By obeying our parents, we are obeying God. God is pleased when we obey His commands. He wants to bless us and He wants us to enjoy our lives. God teaches us what to do and what not to do, allowing us to enjoy true freedom. By obeying God, we are able to avoid sin and the misery sin brings into our lives and we can look forward to the blessings God wants to pour over all of us!
4 comments:
It is not always easy to "obey" and "respect" parents...especially as we get older and realize we don't necessarily agree with them. That is where we must rely on God. If we can focus on the fact that most parents genuinely do love their children and want what is best for them it makes it a little easier...the other thing is that parents must answer to God for what we teach our children....what we "don't" teach our children....what we allow our children to do....it's a massive responsibility....definitely worth it...but massive
well said :)
Growing up in a Christian home with two Christian parents who kept me actively involved in church meant more to me than I ever could have imagined. Sometimes I didn't know why they did things they did or said the things they said because I didn't particularly agree with it at the time. Though I didn't always agree with my parents, I never once disrespected them because that's what I was always taught. Now that I am in college and out on my own, I've never appreciated my parents and family as much as I do now. And I do understand everything they did for me. And when I have children of my own, I want to instill God and the respect they need to have for people as my parents have in me!
I never went thru an outwardly "rebellious" stage during my time with my parents BUT that doesnt mean I didn't find myself struggling internally with pride, disrespect and mistrust issues. I am super super thankful that I grew up the way I did...it kept me out of useless trouble, made me think about who I was associating with and helped me develop relationships with other adults(plus my parents) based on trust and respect. I cannot imagine growing up without a foundation.. i would have been swept away by anything that sounded remotely interesting to me! I love the trust and love that I have with my parents and I will(God-willing) not disappoint them or abuse their trust in my adult life b/c they have been so good to me!
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