When It Is Easy, and When It Is Hard (Ephesians 6:1-9)

SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 6:1-9

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

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

COMMENT

I put these section together not because I think children are servants, or servants are children, but because I think they have a principle in common. You don't choose your parents, nor do slaves choose their masters. Whatever your lot, and this includes work, where you live, etc., there are things that you have to deal with that maybe you did not have a partial or even any choice in. But deal with them you must, and dealing with them righteously is how a Christian should react.

Children, obey your parents, honor them. Do we even know what it means to honor someone anymore? Now parents are not without responsibility in this, but not all parents, even Christian parents, do a good job at this. That does not relieve the children from honoring and obeying. Servants also are to obey. Masters are told how to treat servants, but again, not all will follow this, and that does not seem to release the servant from his obligation.

What I take away from this is that you are given a code of how to respond. Not a code of telling others how to respond, or a release from that obligation if things do not go you way. Obey, honor...those can be difficult things to do even under good circumstances, let alone when you feel it is not deserved or appreciated. I think the next section gives some ideas as to the "how" of accomplishing this, so I will stop here for today.