I am not a parent (the lone elder with this status), so I get to ask them about raising a child in the church. The fifth commandment says to honor you mother and father. Now, if a parent commands this from their child it is right, but it also sounds self-serving. Should others in the church be taking your children aside and exhorting them to honor you? Do you have a problem with this? How far should others go with this type of exhortation? Can I hang your sons upside down until they say “uncle?”

I will make an analogy with marriage to promote my question. I do not tell my wife to submit to me. The Scriptures do so, my pastor has done so, other women should encourage each other to do so. Or maybe the other elders will tell me I should. I fear the complete depravity that can cause me to take what God has established for good and use it for my own means. There is certainly an order in the family that must be observed, but how can we as a church promote this better?

Posted in Church Life, Family & Parenting |