Paul gives us more practical advice today about how to deal with each other in a godly way. Yesterday he spoke of the marriage relationship. Today he speaks of the relationship between parents and children and of the relationship between employers and employees.
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." (Ephesians 6:1) Paul says, "It's the Lord's will for you to obey your parents. When you do this, you are doing something that is right in the Lord's eyes." I have to say, it seems like our society has gotten this principle backwards over the past several decades. We quite often see the parents obeying the children instead of the other way around. This is actually very unfair to the children because they need authority figures and strong role models in their lives. I think this is why so many young adults have trouble in their first year of college or in their first job, because at home they were taught that everyone caters to them and that the world revolves around them. It's a very rude shock when they learn this isn't the case. In society we all have to obey those in authority over us, and the first place we need to learn this is in the home. Paul is going to address that very subject as soon as he finishes his instructions to the children.
Honoring our fathers and mothers is one of the ten commandments. Parents have a duty to teach their children to follow it and children have a duty to obey it. A blessing for obeying this commandment is promised by the Lord, so if parents want their children to have a long and happy life they need to teach their children to obey and respect them. If the children want to live a long and happy life they need to take heed to the commandment and the promise attached to it. "'Honor your father and mother'---which is the first commandment with a promise---'so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.'" (Ephesians 6:2-3) (Deuteronomy 5:16)
Next Paul addresses himself to the fathers of the children. This is because, as we learned yesterday, the man of the house is the one to whom God has given the responsibility of setting a spiritual example for the family. We can apply these instructions to mothers as well, since in our day mothers and fathers usually share the responsibility for instruction and discipline, and also because there are many homes where only a mother figure is present. "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4) Some translations of this verse say, "Do not provoke your children to wrath." Parents aren't to be strict and inconsiderate disciplinarians. They aren't to treat the children as if their opinions and feelings don't matter. They aren't to be so hard to please that their children feel like they never do anything right. I know people who've grown up in that type of environment and it has left a lasting impression on them. They find it difficult to think of God as a loving father. Their idea of God as a father was shaped in childhood by a father (or sometimes a mother) who treated them as if they never did anything right. They don't know how to relate to a parental figure in a healthy way and this causes them to have trouble relating to God in a healthy way.
Now we move on to the relationship between employers and employees. Because of the times he was living in, Paul refers to them as slave and master. Slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire, and in many cases it wasn't the type of slavery we once had in the United States. Rome allowed slaves to own their own property and to earn their own money when they weren't on the job. This is how they were sometimes able to buy their freedom, by saving up money they earned on their own time. So in a lot of cases the slave/master relationship was similar to the employee/employer relationship. "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ." (Ephesians 6:5) Do all of us have employers who are Christians? No, but in order to honor Christ we are to show our employers the respect due to the position of authority they hold.
We are to have integrity about our work, not just doing a good job while our boss is watching us, but doing a good job all the time. "Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether slave or free." (Ephesians 6:6-8) Our real Master is Christ. He knows whether we are honest and hardworking even when no one else is watching and He will reward us accordingly.
The employers are to treat their employees with respect and dignity. "And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him." (Ephesians 6:9) Even if our boss isn't a Christian, the principle of treating employees fairly still stands because it is right in the Lord's eyes. A boss who isn't a Christian may not be concerned with what the Lord thinks, but Paul says, "You can be sure that the Master in heaven sees how you treat those under your authority. He isn't going to give you a pass on bad behavior just because you're the boss. That means nothing to Him. He's going to judge your behavior by the same standards He judges anyone else's."
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