Eph 6:1 Because it is right

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Sep 15, 2025, 7:00:15 AMSep 15

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Because it is right

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

A child may ask his parents, "Why should I obey you?". There may be a number of reasons why, but fundamentally because it is the right thing to do. It is characteristic of the righteous to do what is right because it is the right thing to do. And this is what children should be taught - that there is a right thing to do, and you should want to do the right thing. In fact this is quite a mature motivation. For the immature are generally motivated by anticipating what they get out of it and not because such behavior is inherently good and right in itself. God is good and righteous not because of the benefits he gets out of it, but because it's inherent in his nature to be good and to do what is right.

In Col 3:20 Paul gives an additional motivation for children, writing, "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." Children are to come to understand that they can exercise behaviors that please the Lord to varying degrees, and that they should desire to please the Lord. It is good and a right thing to seek to please the Lord. "So we make it our goal to please him." 2Cor 5:9

Now as for the phrase "in the Lord", it does not say "who are in the Lord", and thus is not limiting this to Christian parents. Rather I believe Paul is alluding to an idea of which I had previously covered, namely the idea that human authority only has a limited realm of authority outside of which it does not hold legitimate authority. To obey your parents "in the Lord" means that your obedience is with regards to the legitimate realm of authority the Lord has granted your parents over you, regardless of whether your parents are Christian or not; that is, obedience with regards to things which are not contrary to the Lord's will.