Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

                                                                                                                   Ephesians 6:1-4 

Today, Paul reminds us of the hierarchy of family relationships. Children should obey and honor their parents (simply because they are the parents) and fathers (as well as mothers) should not provoke their children to anger. A loving, Christian parent should discipline and instruct their child consistently and fairly.

Just like with the issue of marriage, the culture continues to push against God’s design for families. We see the lack of respect in many areas of society. A lack of respect for teachers, law enforcement officers, pastors, and those in leadership positions seems to be dominating the landscape. This shift in thinking and behavior can be traced back to the home. When there is a breakdown in the family structure, there will be a breakdown in society. In other words, our society is a direct reflection of our homes.

But let’s take it a step further. This lack of respect for parents and those in society can be traced back to a rejection of the very existence of God. When a child is raised to believe that the world exists for him/her and that the reality of being under the authority and judgment of God is ignored, the foundation for respect completely disappears. In other words, if a child doesn’t fear God then it wouldn’t be reasonable to anticipate that they would have a respect for others in society.

To demonstrate this shift in culture over the last fifty years, just take a look at television families from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s and compare that to television families today. “Father Knows Best” (in which you find a reason for paternal respect in the name), “The Andy Griffith Show”, “Leave It To Beaver” and even “The Brady Bunch” all contain a family dynamic in which the parents were viewed as the wiser, more intelligent members of the family. Sure, the children would find their way in and out of mischief, but the overarching message in each episode is that the parents were there to discipline and instruct, while the children looked up to and respected their parents. Although “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It To Beaver” exemplified a seemingly “perfect” family situation, diversity still existed in television back then. “The Andy Griffith Show” offered us a look at the challenges that a single, widower father faced in raising a child without his mother. And in the 70’s, “The Brady Bunch” showed us how a blended family (as a result of both parents losing their former spouse) could work.

Today, we see the opposite. Without listing examples of this shift, just take a look at how families are represented today. The parents and teachers are usually viewed as clueless, bumbling idiots while the children serve as their hip, wise, and intelligent counterparts. The idea of respect today is often verbalized this way, “If someone doesn’t show me respect than I am under no obligation to reciprocate.” Older members of society should be respected for the very fact that they are older. Children should glean from the wisdom and experience of these older members. But to accept Paul’s instructions as to how parents and children should interact, there must first be a firm commitment to the gospel and the reality of Jesus as Savior. Unless we train our children to be humble and to have a healthy, reverent respect for God, tragically, we will not see a reverse in the current cultural course.

Biblical principles for families are timeless and ignoring them will only lead to a continued disruption for the home and society.