Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
Paul was great for giving us lists of instructions. This one is not quite as well-known as the Ephesians passage, but he is concise and to the point. What sticks out is that the instructions for the children and servants are both to obey, and both have as a bottom line a positive outcome: children obeying please the Lord, (because He loves to be obeyed) and bondservants obeying demonstrate a proper respect for the line of command (which always ends with Gods' sovereignty). The one sandwiched in the middle is harder to swallow. Fathers are not to provoke (in a negative way) their children, because the end could be devastating: fathers can drive kids away from God and the exciting purpose God has for them. That is a dreadfully powerful position to be in - to do that much destruction in young lives. May we fathers handle our authority and responsibility well, so that the outcome is the same as the other two: we show that we understand whose authority we are under, and so that God is pleased with how we raise our kids.
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