Between Children And Parents

TEXT: EPHESIANS 6:1-4

KEY VERSE: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

As the world celebrates the children’s day today, it is a fact that children are the joy and delight of their parents. It is sad however to observe that the relationship between parents and children in some homes have turned sour as a result of the failure of both parties in their duties, as spelt out in the text, one to another.

Children are commanded to obey their parents in all things as long as those things do not run contrary to the will of God. Parents in turn have it as a duty to show good understanding of their children and not provoke them to wrath. Where there is this balance in the parents/children relationship, there are bound to be harmony, trust, mutual confidence, peace and progress in the family.

Obedience from children to parents should be a loving submission. Children will obey their parents without questioning when they know and feel they are truly loved by their parents. Their obedience is the way they respond to this love. When parents truly love their children, they will deal with them with proper understanding and tolerance. They will not have an overbearing and repelling attitude towards them. Their expectation of them will not be too high.

However, this does not mean that parents should indulge their children in anyway. While they remain kind, gentle and loving, they are at the same time expected to be firm and principled. They have it as their duty to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Christian parents have it as their primary responsibility to lead their children to the Lord and through their own personal practical lives and examples as well as deliberate and consistent instructions from the word of God, bring them up in the fear of the Lord. If we all do these, our homes will be strong and peaceful and our societies in turn, will have less aggressions, protests and violence coming from disgruntled children whose homes have failed them.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: There is no conflict in love.