Let's take our Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter 6. We're going to continue on where we left off last week as Paul unpacks this whole concept of submission. The past couple of weeks we've been talking about what that looks like practically in the home. with the husbands and wives. And then Paul continues to train of thought as we transition into chapter 6, talking about the children and parent relationship and what that looks like in the context of that relationship. So, I want to read here, Ephesians 6, and start in verse 1, read verses 1-4. 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. The world watched With great sadness a few weeks back as the South Korean ferry, the sea will sink there off the coast of South Korea. And as you know the story, several teenagers and children killed in that great tragedy. As they have continued the investigation, They started to discover some things about that journey, that voyage that were pretty disturbing actually, which ultimately led to the capsizing and sinking of that boat. One of the big things was this, that that ship was authorized or licensed to carry about 987 tons as a maximum cargo load. They estimate that the ship was probably carrying something closer in the neighborhood of 3,600 tons. Slightly overweight there, 987 tons, 3,608 tons probably what was actually on the ship. Along with that, And they said, without necessarily going through the proper channel, they had actually added several more cabins on the third to the fifth decks, which also contributed to weight issues on the ship. And then this was kind of unconfirmed, but also speculation that there had been some extra heavy machinery that had also been laid on the ship as well. In order to make up for the extra weight that the ship was carrying, they had to empty some of the ballast water out of the bottom of the ship, which the ballast water is there. It helps stabilize the ship and they can pump that water in or out depending on what the needs are of the ship. The problem is you pump too much ballast water out and the ship becomes less steady. and they were kind of putting all this together and they think because of the weather that day and certain conditions that at some point that ship took a 15 degree sharper turn than what would be recommended on a normal basis. Couple that with the ballast water, the extra weight, and that is most likely what led to that ship capsizing. The great tragedy in that was that there was an order that had been laid out by the authorities, the engineers, the people who know, in order that had been laid out and subsequently ignored, and therefore we end up with the mess we end up in. Another similar example, by where I lived for a couple years after I graduated from college, my parents lived in Delaware for a while, just south of Philadelphia, and I was a truck driver for a moving company. We had contracted with Dover Air Force Base, which was a lot of fun in some ways, a pain in the neck in others because we were dealing with the government and that's always a good time. But the plane that flies in and out of Dover, one of the main planes that's based there is the C-5. And it's a fun plane to watch. It's a massive, one of the biggest airplanes in the world. And they'll carry the picture there of an 18-wheeler being wheeled out of that thing. They'll carry airplanes in there, helicopters, tanks. It is an amazing plane. And it looks like when you're watching those things fly in and out, it looks like it's going to fall out of the sky. It's like they're not even moving. You're like, yeah, it's going to land on something, you know. But amazing planes to watch. The thing about a C-5, one of the most important people is on the C-5 staff, not as much the pilot as you would think, it's actually an individual called the loadmaster. I remember talking to a couple of these guys while we were moving and sometimes the loadmaster is the guy who they had to make sure down to the inch where these massive pieces of equipment sat in that plane. If a tank was off just a little bit or a plane or an 18-wheeler was off just a little bit or that load was unbalanced, guess what would happen to that plane when it would take a certain turn when it got out over the Atlantic? Everything would just fall out of the sky. That load could shift. And so that load master was the final authority. And what he said had to be followed or else the C-5 could crash. It's the same thing. There's a prescribed order by the people who know the choice to follow that or ignore it. And as we saw with the ferry, the choice to ignore it can be catastrophic. And as we've gone through Ephesians chapter five and into chapter six here, And Jeff emphasized this the past two weeks, these instructions about husbands and wives and children and parents and later slaves and masters. In our culture today, it's not a big deal. It's not that big of a deal to disobey my parents. It's not that big of a deal to put the time in to instruct my children. It's not that big of a deal to submit to my... I would suggest to you this morning that these instructions are God's order. The master engineer, he understands the process and the structure better than anyone else ever could. And to disregard the load master, if you will, to disregard his instructions regarding these family units and slaves and masters is to set ourselves up for failure and tragedy. Now is the time to totally unpack this. We've been trying to do this each week. But wanting just to refresh, remember to remind you that these instructions we're going to look at today in chapter 6 verses 1 through 4 are set within a very significant context. Chapter 5, and then even on back obviously to chapter 1, where in chapter 5, Before we got into the husband-wife relationship type thing, we were reading Paul's introduction to this section about being imitators of God. And then as he goes on in chapter 5, he says, look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise. And he talks about making the most of our time. And he talks about being filled with the Spirit. And he talks about the reason why these things matter is because the days are evil. And grammatically, this is all linked. And you get to that last part about submitting to one another, which is all linked back to that. And then Paul then unpacks that. What does that look like? And we arrive here at chapter 6 through that gate of the beginning of chapter 5. And let me just unpack it just to refresh your memory here a little bit. I'm going to fly through this part to get to the next. But just to set this in the context again, ok? In light of the context, the parent-child relationship is important because first of all, it indicates that we are imitating God. Chapter 5, verse 1. You imitate God by obeying your parents, and by instructing your children and discipling them. Secondly, a right parent and child relationship demonstrates that we are walking in love. Demonstrates that we are walking in love. The next one, right parent-child relationships characterize those who are walking wisely. If you are under your parents' authority here today, and your relationship with them is marked by constant chafing under their authority, the Bible says you are a fool. You are a fool. And when the Bible calls someone a fool, it's kind of a big deal. Parents, conversely. If you are a parent who is not being intentional about the discipleship of your children, you are not instructing them. You are not walking wisely. You are a fool. Paul says, the days are evil. The days are evil. So if I am not instructing my children in the things of the Lord, who is instructing them? The evil around them. I lose ground. You're a fool. You're not walking wisely. Right parent-child relationships are the best way to steward what we have been given so that we are equipped to navigate the evil of our world. We'll unpack that one a little bit more here in a minute. Next, right parent and child relationships show that we are following God's will. That we are following God's will. I want to do God's will. I want to know God's will about who I am. I want to marry, I want to know God's will about my next job." No, you don't. You treat your parents like trash. You don't care about God's will. It's God's will. Right? Parent-child relationship demonstrate a Spirit-filled life. And right parent-child relationships fulfill the command to submit. So there we are. We set the context there a little bit. So let's switch now. Let's talk about the children's role. Quite simply, one word, the child's role is to follow, to obey. Throughout Scripture, children, child usually denotes relationship rather than age. and can even, and this makes sense given the Roman world and the context this was written in, can even include adults who were expected to honor their parents until death. And some would say that in the ancient or the Roman culture, for instance, the child sometimes didn't even necessarily completely come of age until the father died, because the father had that kind of power and authority. So that is in view. It seems here Paul is narrowing that focus a little bit, at least in the instructions to obey, because when he goes on to the instruction part, telling the parents to instruct, he seems to be indicating that it's still a stage maybe where the child is still learning and still growing, which would maybe indicate someone younger. Either way, obedience and honor applies to everyone sitting in here today. Obedience to a parent obviously looks very different for a 5-year-old than it does a 21-year-old. I'd suggest to you that honor looks very much the same, regardless of whether you're 5 or 21. It's an inward disposition, it's an inward attitude, recognition, perspective of who they are and who I am. Children, then, are commanded to obey and honor their parents. obey and honor their parents. The word obey here, earlier in chapter 5, Paul told wives to submit to their husbands. This word obey is a little bit stronger of a word than that word submit. This word communicates absolute obedience, absolute yielding to the parents. The deep Greek Theological. I went to seminary for this. Thought is this, do what you're told. Four years of seminary for that. Do what you're told. Do what your parents told you. And we could add to that, this is also in the Greek, without being a punk. Attitude. Do what you're told. Obey your parents. In Paul, this terminology of obey, he generally uses that word to describe the believer's relationship to Christ. Obey Christ, obey Christ, obey Christ, right? That clues us in to what the expectation is for children in regard to their parents. Just as you are to obey Christ, that's how children are to view their parent. We don't have the time to unpack all of the passages, but just a couple of thoughts. This concept, God's divinely willed order regarding the parent-child relationship, is literally all over Scripture. It is all over the place. We could quote passages like the sister passage here, Colossians 3, 20. Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged. Of course, and Paul shows us this, all of this is rooted in the fifth command, Exodus 20, 12. Honor your father. and your mother. This command is re-quoted several times in the Gospels. Matthew 15.4, for God commanded, honor your father and your mother. Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. You look all throughout the Proverbs to read things like, hear my son your father's instruction, forsake not your mother's teaching. A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. Proverbs 13. Exodus 21 verses 15 and 17 talks about a son or child who strikes their parents shall be put to death. Leviticus 19.3, every one of you shall revere his mother and father. Leviticus 20 verse 9, anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, his blood is upon him. Deuteronomy 21, cursed is anyone who dishonors his father. Proverbs 15.5 calls anyone who dishonors his father a fool. Proverbs 20, 20, if one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out into utter darkness. That sounds pleasant. Proverbs 30, 17, the eye that mocks. The eye that mocks, what's that? The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. Students, you don't walk out of here with anything else today. Walk out of here with this disobedience to your parents matters to God. It is a big deal to him. Rebellion. Disobedience. That theme of rebellion, if you remember even that word, it's the same word, 1 Samuel 15. It's that narrative where Samuel comes into the camp after Saul was told to wipe out the enemy and completely destroy everything. And Samuel walks into the camp and he hears the livestock and the sheep. And he asks Saul, what's that? Saul says, well, I kept some of the best stuff for sacrifice, even though God had told him not to. And what does Samuel say to him? He says, you don't get it, Saul. To obey is better than sacrifice. And a couple verses later, what does he say? Rebellion is as the sin of what? Witchcraft, divination, Satanism, the attitude of disobedience, rebellion. Scriptures put it on par with the occult. It's a big deal to God. So we transition to the next point. God takes deviation from this order very seriously. Very seriously. Death to a rebellious child. It's a big deal to God. Deviation from this order is characteristic of some of the worst manifestations of evil. Again, our world, right? Students, you know, we ask this question in the first year, a lot of high school students, right? What does the world say about our parents, disregarding our parents? It's not a big deal, right? They're all like, yeah, it's expected, it's normal. It's not a big deal in the world's eyes. But Scripture takes that lie of Satan, that it's not a big deal, and exposes it for what it was. And so we read in passages like this, Matthew 10.21, talking about characteristics of the end times. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child. And children will rise up against parents. Romans 1, verse 30, talking about the wicked. It says, "...they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents." Foolish, faithless, heartless. It goes on. 2 Timothy 3. But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty, for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, on and on and on it goes. 1 Timothy 1.9, now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexual immoral, Men who practice homosexuality, on and on he goes. The attitude towards the parents, God places that alongside some of the most heinous evils that we could imagine. It's a big deal to God. So what are the practical implications of that? Think about your week. The past couple of weeks. Your parent says, this was a lot of fun in the first service because of all the little kids, and your parent says, clean your room. Clean your room. But I'm 18. Clean your room. Parents say, I'm not comfortable with you dating that person. I'm not comfortable with that relationship. Well, I don't care what you think. I love them. You better think twice. You better think twice. What God says about this relationship, curfew, right? Be home at this time. This is stupid. And then you're out with your friends, and you're like, what? You're going to be home then? Oh, come on, I'll stay home. Yeah, screw my parents, I'm going to stay out. God puts that in a certain category. It matters. It's a big deal. Practice your piano. I gave Chris and Hannah a little look at that one. Chris was like... Obey. You know what it is in your life. You know what it is. You know what the things are that you chafe under in your parents' authority. It is a big deal to God. It is all over the scriptures. Don't let Satan say, eh, it doesn't matter. Something's repeated once in scriptures enough. Something's repeated this many times in scriptures. God's trying to get a point into our thick skulls. Listen to Him. Obedience to parents is part of Christian discipleship and character, right? Obey your parents in the Lord. How I relate to my parents demonstrates something of my posture and relationship with God. This is the sense of in the Lord, or it's very close to what Paul had said earlier, the husband-wife relationship, submit as to the Lord. Obedience is given not simply because of the parents' authority and status. It is given because I am a Christian, because I have a new identity in Christ. That is why I obey first and foremost. This adds weight. How I relate to my parents demonstrates how I relate to God. Paul goes on to say, obey because it's right. It is right. It is right because when I obey, it conforms me to God's order and His holy commandment. We talked about the order earlier. Someone on that ferry did not conform to the order and we end up with a mess because of it. It is right, because when I do it, I am in line with God's order. It is the thing to do. And you think about it, just take the spiritual component of it away. Just purely on a pragmatic, human decency level. This woman suffered hours of labor to bring you into the world. These people brought you into the world. They raised you. They fed you. You couldn't feed yourself. You couldn't change your own diaper. They took care of you. They provided for you. They met your needs just purely on a decency level. It is right and fitting and proper to give them honor and respect. The command to obey here is rooted in the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother. This was a fascinating read the past couple of weeks here. And the Jewish interpretation of the Ten Commandments is all kinds of ways that these were ordered and interpreted. One of the primary Jewish ways that the Ten Commandments were understood was this. We tend to view the Ten Commandments in a four-six relationship. The first four deal with our relationship with God. The second six, or the six starting with the fifth one, honor your father and mother, and on deal with our relationship with one another. There's nothing wrong with that, it's fine. But interesting, the Jews actually, by and large, viewed them as a five and five grouping, and they placed the honor your father and mother in the grouping with the first four. It kind of related them to the relationship with God, and here was the rationale behind it. The way many of them thought about it was this, that the parents stand in as God's authority in my life. So to reject the parental authority in my life is ultimately to reject God. So how I relate to my parents has every bit to do with how I relate to God as I have no other gods before me. And it makes sense contextually in the Old Testament because what was the penalty again for rejection of parental authority? What was the penalty for rebellion? It was death. The same penalties that were put in place for divination and for blasphemy. So at that level, at least, the consequences were the same. So it does make sense to view it that way. Paul's use of, in the Lord, would kind of further support that thought. Again, that true obedience to this command comes out of one's relationship to God. To disobey my parents is spiritual rebellion. He goes on to say this command has a promise attached to it. In the Exodus passage, in the initial rendering of this command, the promise had to do with Israel. You obey, you stay long in the land, which was a blessing. in connection to the land. You will stay in the promised land if you obey your parents. Isn't that a fascinating connection, given that Israel did not stay in the land? At some level, there is a connection. There was a breakdown in the parent-child relationship, and I think it was on both ends, because you read in Judges that other generations arose that didn't know the Lord. So there was neglect on the parent's side of things, communicating God's truth, but there also was neglect on the children's side of things, not obeying the parent. It's just logical. Obey, you'll be blessed and stay in the land. Disobey, exile. They were exiled. There's some weight to that. Now Paul takes it and he recontextualizes it through a New Testament setting because obviously for us and for his readers, the promised land isn't in play for us. Paul kind of reorients it and says that you will live long, be blessed. There's blessing attached to this. The child who obeys will have a good life. Now, obviously, you know, it's not an absolute. Children die. There have been good, godly children over the years who have passed away. So it's not like the Bible was wrong. But what Paul is communicating there is a principle. That the child who lives life, and life isn't shortened by disease or things from the sin-cursed world we live in, that child who obeys and honors his parents has a better chance at, as Proverbs said, having the straight paths before him. living a blessed life. They won't live with the turmoil and the heartbreak that come with rebellion. Blessing is attached to it. It's a promise of God's. That is significant. He goes on to quote, again, the commandment to honor And I think as I alluded to earlier, it's not just talking about external obedience. Honor is a disposition I have towards my parents. It implies a certain heart orientation and inner attitude. This applies to every single one of us who are sitting here who still have parents who are living. I still respect them. I still honor them. It can get harder, can't it, as we get older? I mean, all of us find that. I mean, there are certain things. I know there are certain topics that I know me and my parents disagree on. Or me and Kathy's parents disagree on. Right? And sometimes we all have that ornery side in us that sometimes we want to bring something up just because... I'm the only one? I'm the only one, alright. Right, I'm going to bring this up. No. I know that bothers dad. I know that bothers my mom. I'm not going to bring that up. I'm going to care about what they think. What they think matters. I'm going to ask them their advice. It's meaningful. Dad, hey, my daughter's a couple years away from being a teenager. How do I handle this? That's honor. Listening to their thoughts. And sometimes, you know, they start talking and you're like, oh boy, here we go. Back when I was a kid, uphill both ways to school. Let me tune them out. No, that's not honor. It's not respect. Listen to them. Honor, care about them in their old age. Right? Care about them in their old age. Honor implies speaking about them the right way. I'm all guilty of this, slamming our parents. It's a stupid idea my parents had the other day. My mom was doing that. We need to be really careful. Really careful to honor our parents. Shifts. Children obey their parents and mom and dad don't get off the hook either, do they? Don't exasperate your children. Instead, instruct them. Disciple them. Very similar to the command in Colossians 3.21, right? Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged. What's assumed here is the parent unit, the mother and the father. When Paul says fathers, this is kind of assumed, he's talking to both parents, it's the responsibility of both parents. That said, that said, the father is emphasized. And in too many families, it's the mom who's the one having to impart the spiritual wisdom and discernment and disciple their kids because the dad's too distracted or too lazy or too whatever. Dad is emphasized here. Fathers. Part of the reason in Paul's context that was emphasized is because in his day, fathers had incredible power over their children, to the point of life and death even. When that baby was born, the father could decide, we want this baby, we don't want this baby. If they didn't want the baby, the baby would be put out and die of exposure. And it was perfectly fine in the Roman culture. The father had that kind of authority. The father could be very powerful, very authoritative, very domineering, very cruel. demanding, demeaning. And so there's a reason here, too, that Paul is curbing their power and telling them, hey, culturally, you need to reign the sin as well. So he tells them, do not be responsible for what in your children? Anger. Right? Think about the implications that Paul's already talked about anger in Ephesians. There's a background to Paul's use of anger here, of frustrating your children. What's the background in Ephesians? What does Paul say about anger? Don't let the sun go down on your anger. Why? You give Satan a foothold. Do you understand the implications of that? If I am the type of parent who is because of my hypocrisy, or my inconsistency, or my unreasonable demands, or my arbitrary nature, or whatever it is, if I'm the type of parent who angers my child, who am I allowing then to work in their life and have a foothold? Satan. That is a big deal. So where there should be loving nurture and peace, because of my actions, I have created a hell-born division that divides and destroys. It's my fault. Satan has a place in my family if I am exasperating my children. Again, practical examples of how parents do this. Inconsistencies. Hypocritical. Your kid sees you at church, sees how you are around other believers, and then sees you at home. That's one of the quickest ways to exasperate your child. Be hypocritical. You're not spending time with them. You're not investing in them. Have you had little kids play with them? Dads? I play My Little Pony. I could sing My Little Pony songs to you. I admit it's actually saying one on the first service. I'm not going to do it. Disney princesses. My prayer, my hope is that 20 minutes of My Little Pony with my five-year-old will pay off. with relational impact when they're 15, 16, 17, 18. Because my daughter will say, my daddy cared about me. He played with me. He's made time with me because he loves me. And so I'm going to listen to what he says. Make time for your kids. Put the golf clubs away and hang out with your kid. Put the iPad down. Turn the computer off. Put the stinking texting smartphone down. If you're watching a football game with your son, watch a football game with your son. Nurture them. Invest in them in that way. Don't be the parent either who's always correcting and never affirming. Don't, don't, don't, don't. No, no, no, no, no. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Martin Luther, great quote. Spare the rod, spoil the child. True. But, beside the rod, keep an apple to give him when he has done well. Alright? Lead, parents. Invest in your child. Parents are commanded to be intentional about instructing and discipling their children in the things of the Lord. So when I am not intentional about discipleship, I, in context here again, remember, I am walking foolishly. I am not making the best use of my time. I am losing ground in these evil days if I am not being intentional about discipling my children. James Montgomery Boyce did a great quote. He says this, to teach the child to obey the parents is to teach them to obey God. To allow the child to defy and disobey the parent is to teach the child to defy and disobey God with all of the obvious consequences. So Paul says, bring them up. The word there is nurture. It's the same word in chapter 5 verse 29 that talks about or describes Christ's care for the church. The way that Christ lovingly cares for the church is the way that I as a father am to care for my children. By the way, you put back-to-back weeks together here, right? Love your wives as Christ loved the church. Now I'm told to nurture. Same word that's used to describe Christ's relationship with the church. You get the connection there. You get the heaviness of our responsibility, Dad's. I am to be Christ to my family. I am to be Christ to my family. Love my wife that way. And love my children that way. Discipline and instruction. I am to give to them. The overarching idea here involves structured, intentional training, along with verbal correction, admonition, warning, and discipline. We don't have time to turn there, but this is conveyed so well. Look at it later. Deuteronomy 6, verses 6-9. It is that great passage that says, teach your children, talk about God's truth when you're walking in the way, when you're sitting down. In other words, you always be about the task of discipling your children. And also understand this, throughout Scripture, These terms of instructing and disciplining, there's always a merciful quality to biblical instruction and discipline. Hebrews 12, a great example of that, right? Quoting the Proverbs. A loving father disciplines his child. Instructing my kids because I love them. Here's a question I have for you. Are you intentional? Intentional about discipleship with your children. Some of you are way more plugged into and concerned with their throwing motion, their swing, and their basketball shot than you are with their spiritual lives. Evaluate the time you have spiritual discussions with your children. You wouldn't dare miss a sports practice, but if they miss a couple days of their devotionals, it's not a big deal. You wouldn't dare miss a practice, but prayer meeting, involvement in ministry. Nah, it doesn't really matter. You sat down. Moms and dads, have you sat down and had conversations with your kids about God's view of sex and how to treat someone of the opposite sex? Have you had those conversations? They're going to learn it from somewhere. And have you conducted your relationship? Again, have you played My Little Pony with your kids enough? So when you sit down to have that conversation, your kids are not going, This is weird. But you never talk to me like, oh, now we're talking about that. Oh, gosh. You know, right? Invest. Give them time. It never ceases to amaze me. how parents make little intentional efforts in the discipleship of their kids, then come to us totally perplexed as to why their kids are walking away from the faith, why their kids are drugged up, or alcoholics, or doing whatever. Maybe it's because of the fact that football rules the home instead of Christ. It may have something to do with it. There is too much at stake here. The Scriptures say the days are evil. I'd encourage you to sit down. You make a plan. Think through each of your kids. What does this kid need? What are this kid's strengths and weaknesses? How are we going to get them from here to here? They do that in school. We do that in athletics. Why don't we do it with spiritual things? Be intentional. Obviously assumed in this is that the parents, fathers are learning and growing themselves. I'm not going to be able to instruct my kids if I'm not learning myself. By the way, does this mean I have to be perfect? No, you don't. Howard Hendricks, great quote. Children are not looking for perfect parents, but they are looking for honest parents. An honest, progressing parent is a highly infectious person. So I'm going to tell my daughters sometimes, I do not feel like going to church today. Shocker. Pastors feel that way sometimes. And why are we going? Because it's right. I've told my kids before, I don't feel like doing my devils today. I really don't. But be honest with your kids. When you mess up, apologize to your kids. If you're the type of parent who never acknowledges wrongdoing, who never goes to your kid and says, I blew it. I am sorry. That is huge. Admit that. Be honest with them. You don't have to be perfect. But if they see you trying and failing and growing and learning, and you're communicating that process to them, that's what they need to see in you. They see you striving after godliness. That's what they need to see in you. The discipleship needs to be of the Lord. That's how Paul kind of ends. Of the Lord. In other words, it is distinctly Christian. Teach your kids the thing of the Lord, things of the Lord. Do catechisms with them. Teach them how to do their devotions. I'm not as good at this as I should be. I try on a weekly basis to... I'll tell my girls, I want your Devo books on my bed after you do them this afternoon. And I'm going to look at them. I'm not looking at them to check up on them. But first of all, I love reading what they're writing and stuff, but then it allows me too to go back and say, hey sweetie, you know what, let me talk through this passage, you know, and help them understand, you know. Round yawn virgin does not mean that Mary was fat. That's not even the scripture, that's a song. You misinterpreted this. And let me help you understand what it means. Come alongside. Instruct them. Several sentiments you often hear. Parents say, I'm tired of fighting the battles. You know, sometimes that's legit. There are battles sometimes that are not worth Not worth fighting. But I feel like a lot of times, I don't want to fight the battle. It becomes a lame excuse for laziness. Or sometimes, we don't want to fight the battle because we're more concerned about being their buddy than we are about being their parents. And for the child, You have conducted yourself in such a way that your parent no longer feels like they can call you to the highest standards of holiness. They are weary in that because of your attitude. That's on you. You'll hear this one too. I don't want to make my kids do this. I don't want to make them do devils or make them go to church because they're going to grow up then to resent God and hate the church. I don't know. Can I be frank? That's the stupidest thing I've heard. The Bible says to discipline your children. That logic, maybe I'm wrong, that logic to me, we don't apply that logic to homework. I'm not going to make my kid do their homework. They're going to hate school. They hate school anyway. You make them do it. I'm not going to make my kid do their homework. I'm not going to make my kid work on their swing for baseball. They're going to hate baseball. I don't know. That's true. If that holds true, then I want to force my son to watch pornography. You sit down. I want to make you watch porn every single day. I'm going to make you do it. You're going to get spanked if you don't watch pornography. I'm going to make them do it so they're going to hate it when they get older. That's the way to ensure they're not going to do it. I don't know. The Bible says discipline your kids. Godliness. Teach them. Instruct them. Obeying our parents. Intentional discipleship. You know, in the context of our world, it's just a little sin to not obey my parents. Is it really a big deal that I'm not sitting down and walking through scripture and teaching my kids? It is a big deal. Our world says it's not. It is a big deal. I don't know, two weeks ago now, there was a big Ringling Brothers circus. Anyone hear about this? They were performing in Providence, Rhode Island, the Civic Center there in Providence, or the Dunkin Donuts Center, I think it's called now. And there was this thing where there's like eight trapeze. They're hanging by their hair, which you have issues if you're going to do it anyway. They're hanging by their hair on this truss type structure like this. There's a circular thing. They're hanging from their hair and they're doing these spins and stuff. And the entire structure released from the ceiling and came down. under the floor. They dropped some 40, 30, 40 feet, something like that, onto performers who were below them. Multiple critical injuries. You know what they found the issue was? It was a clip, a little clip that attached that entire structure to the Civic Center ceiling, to the trusses in the ceiling. That little clip seemed small, seemed insignificant in comparison to the tribe. This is huge. This is what you see. This is the big deal. It's that little round thing up there that God has ordered, that God has put there. And that's ignored? All this comes crashing down. It's a big deal. Children, obey your parents. And parents, don't exasperate your kids. You invest in them. Dads, be godly men. Be dads. Be fathers. lead, structure children, and raise them to know and fear God.