The Bible says that even a child is known by his doing...how he or she acts. One of the ways a child’s character is revealed is by how they respond to authority.
Ephesians 6:1 says…
Children obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.
Ephesians 6:2 is a commandment. But with a promise.
Honor your father and your mother…
Ephesians 6:3—The Promise
If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
God’s Requirement for Children.
The word obey means to hearken (pay attention, listen, concentrate on) to the command of authority. Children are to be taught to listen and to obey authority, especially the authority of their parents.
Proverbs 22:15
A child’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
A major part of biblical parenting is to help our children learn how to resist that stubborn, self-centered will and to submit to the authority of God.
Children are to honor their parents.
Ephesians 6:1-2
Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise.
Following a child’s obedience is their honor. The word ‘honor’ means to fix a high value upon something or someone. It means to consider something or someone to be precious. Children are to consider their parents to be precious.
Think about your relationship with Jesus; after we have sinned and repented in obedience, we feel a tenderness towards Him and want to draw closer to Him.
By teaching our children to obey and honor authority, we are helping them to develop good character. It has been said that character is who we are when no one is looking. The goal of biblical parenting to raise children who will choose to do the right thing, even when no one is looking.
How can parents help prepare their children?
Ephesians 6:4
And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
The word admonition means to reprimand, rebuke, or reproof. This is our job as parents. Why do you think God specifically says, fathers? Because we are God’s earthly representatives of Him in the home. And the father is a symbol of God’s authority.
What does that mean for us as parents?
That means that we have a responsibility to be that light or symbol of Christ in our homes. And how do you do that? Well—you need to be a follower of Christ.
James 1:21-23
Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted work, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror.
Respect and obedience for authority is one of the best gifts you can give your child.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.