Ephesians 6:1-4
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for that is right. "Honor thy father and thy mother" - such is the first commandment with a promise - "that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest be long-lived upon the earth."
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but rear them in the discipline and admonition of the Lord.
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Parents, especially abusive parents, are sure quick to quote the commandment "honor thy father and they mother." But they forget that God also judges very severely parents who are abusive (witness Jesus Christ preaching about the kingdom of heaven belonging to the children.) St Paul reminds and admonishes fathers (and this includes mothers too) that it is sinful and abusive to provoke children to anger. What St Paul is saying that the only legitimate boundaries of discipline for children are those that result from correct living within the law of God. Abusive parenting is a direct offense against the first commandment, "I am the Lord Thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me" because if one is being abusive to a child, then one is not putting God and God's law above all else. Abusive parents do not love and obey God. It is good that St Paul reminds people of this (wise man that he was) and I wish more people would get the message.
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