Sunday School Blog

The Duty of Parents - Ephesians 6:4

And you Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Vocabulary

Provoke – Parorgizp (Greek), Provocare (Latin), to excite, make angry or to irritate; to poke at, spurn, despise, or reject; to be cruel or use harsh punishment.

Training – Paideia (Greek), proper child rearing practices; education, correction, proper discipline.

Admonition – Nouthesia (Greek) using warnings, explanations, examples and corrections before consequences. Being patient in mercy.

Our Bible identifies the Father as the parent who is greatly responsible for discipling the children. However, in actual practice and fact; It is the mother who does much more of the teaching, the training and sometimes even of the provoking to wrath of their children. Mommies and Daddies are a team. And as a team they should be in agreement as to how their children shall be reared. Each shall support the other in this. Both parents are equal. Both parents need to be obeyed; honored; and respected equally by their children. Therefore, parents never should be Dictators who rule by threats, fear and terror. These tactics only produce hardened, hateful, and hostile children. Some of whom dislike themselves so much that they stop trying and just give up on everything.

Good Parenting Involves These Three (3) Components

1. Children will always be dependent on Parents. Parents must therefore be determined to lead and guide and to nurture their children as best as they can to become the very best people that our God could ever want them to be.

2. Parents should love their children so much as to not try to destroy them. Rearing children is hard work. Put your time in with tender, loving, considerate, care and direction.

3. Parents should help take care of all of their children’s needs – educational, physical, mental, spiritual, and anything else they need. If you can not help them yourself get some aid or some assistance from others. Determine to be Good Parents! Amen.

Conclusion

Fathers and Mothers are a Family Team. They are God’s designated “Home Authority” – Proverbs 1:6, 6:20-22. God wants parents to rear their children by giving them Grace and Mercy just as God does for us. God wants Parents to use care discipline and not harsh discipline to correct children. Parents are mandated to make sure that their children are disciplined. A wild child is an unloved child coming from undisciplined parents.