Live Rightly

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Ephesians 6:1

In parenting, the home is also a school and the professors are mom and dad. The first lesson in the school of life that every child must be taught is obedience. This instruction must start from the time a child is born.

Children are not bent towards obedience. They must be trained to obey. On the other hand, they do not have to be taught to disobey or throw a tantrum. Children don’t have to be taught to be selfish or to get angry. They are perfectly capable of doing both on their own from a very young age.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” If parents don’t start up children in the way they should go, they will naturally go in a way they shouldn’t. Why is this? Why don’t children have to be taught to misbehave? Why is the natural urge towards wrong instead of right?

Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” As precious as newborn babies are, they are sinful. While they have not yet chosen sin, the sinful nature is there, lying dormant. When the time and conditions are right, this sleeping monster will rear its ugly head. As parents we have different phrases for this, like, “The Terrible Twos.” Whatever we call it, all of the sudden our precious angels look us straight in the eye and say, “No!” From that first defiant act, we must train our children to obey.

Notice in Ephesians 6:1 why children are to obey their parents…because this is right. It is the job of parents, early on, to teach children the difference between right and wrong, and to do what is right. There are three basic lessons that we need to teach our kids from the time they come out of the womb: 1) There is a difference between right and wrong; and God decides which is which; 2) You are to do right and not wrong; and 3) If you choose to do wrong you will suffer the consequences.

Dear Lord, I know my children will make mistakes, but ultimately I want them to learn right from wrong so that they make good decisions. Please give them wisdom, and me as well, so that they gain this understanding and apply it to their life. In Jesus' name, amen.