Speaking to both children and their parents, the Apostle Paul gives timeless direction that is as applicable to Greco-Roman world of the 1st Century, as it is to our own post-modern Western culture. (1) Children need to obey their parents, (2) parents need to not exasperate (frustrate) their children.
In this case Paul embraces the time-honored tradition of parental authority because it is the right thing to do. Human nature requires it, kids need guidance. However, this isn't a heavy-handed dictatorship that Paul is advocating, the command to fathers (mom isn't exempt) to not make this process difficult for their kids reminds us that all of us have value in God's sight, men and women, adults and children.
Our culture may be very different from that of the Ephesians, but these truths remain timeless.
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