The Command to Parents

The Contemporary English Version of Ephesians chapter 6 says

1Children, you belong to the Lord, and you do the right thing when you obey your parents. The first commandment with a promise says, 2"Obey your father and your mother, 3and you will have a long and happy life."4Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord.

Loving parents do their best to teach their children Christian values, ethics and how to live with integrity. Children grow from dependence into independence. Tension arises when young people confuse independence with control. As long as parents are responsible for their young people, parents will always have the last word.

The real question for both parents and young people is this: How much of the growing up for children and the letting go for parents has to be a battle? Mutual respect, mutual honor, loving obedience, loving discipline can all coexist in peace.

Young people decide the amount of rebellion; parents determine the severity of discipline. May both children and parents seek to honor Christ in all their relationships.