I'm Afraid That Authority Figures Have Ignored Certain Verses in Ephesians 6:1-9
While doing my study on Ephesians - it just struck my cord at how authority figures are conveniently ignoring some verses. Ephesians 6:1-9 are verses that talk about give and take relationship. Even a heathen philosopher like Confucius demanded people not to do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you. Jesus stated it as do unto others what you want them to do unto you. Now, let's consider the verses in their proper sequence:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5 Servants (actually slaves, emphasis mine), be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with Him.
Parent and child relationship
It's really expected that the Ten Commandments also expects us to honor our parents. Exodus 20:12 commands that. However, that command is very difficult to follow when parents frequently have dishonorable lives. How can you expect a woman not to whore around or a man not to womanize when the mother is a whore and the father is a womanizer? Before obedience is expected there must be a good example. Romans 2:22-23 says that you must practice what you preach. The Pharisees were pretty much guilty of not practicing what they preach (Matthew 23:3). Parents who don't live right can't expect their children to live right.
What's the role of parents? They are told not to provoke their children to wrath. How often is Exodus 20:12 taken out of context or to expect children to obey even evil commands? The Bible says that while parents need to be strict but they also need to be within reason. A spanking done out of love saves a life. A spanking done beyond reason is a dangerous thing. Proverbs 19:1 says to spank but do not spare your soul for your child's crying. That is to put him to death through child abuse. Spanking is designed as a deterrent against violence. However, if a child witnesses his father use violence over reason in spanking then expect the child to grow up to be violent too. An abused child has the tendency to grow up into an abusive adult. If not disciplining is bad enough then disciplining without love is just as useless. You can discipline without loving but never love without discipline.
Employer and employee relationship
The other rule we're presented is with the role of masters and servants. Actually, the word doulos is used which means slave. Back then, these servants were actually owned by masters. They were not servants by today's standards or employees that can have different employers. Rather, we're talking about masters who owned slaves. Slave mistreatment was a very common thing. Paul's letter required servants to be obedient (except if they were told to do something evil) and to do service unto the Lord. However, Paul also told masters to forbear (that's to give up) threatening knowing that they too have a Master (Kurious) in Heaven watching from above.
Authority is something we all need to keep society in order. No law means no order. The law was created because of lawlessness (1 Timothy 1:8-11). Remove law, remove authorities, and you can expect all kinds of mayhem. You can no longer enjoy your daily life without much of a threat. Remove police and military and there will be none to protect the safety of people. That means you can't call the cops if your life is in danger. You can't have soldiers to help stop invaders from hurting civilians. Remove the authorities and people will destroy each other. However, some authorities are known to be abusive. Paul's request was that authorities were not to be abusive but to treat their servants well.
Authority is something we all need to keep society in order. No law means no order. The law was created because of lawlessness (1 Timothy 1:8-11). Remove law, remove authorities, and you can expect all kinds of mayhem. You can no longer enjoy your daily life without much of a threat. Remove police and military and there will be none to protect the safety of people. That means you can't call the cops if your life is in danger. You can't have soldiers to help stop invaders from hurting civilians. Remove the authorities and people will destroy each other. However, some authorities are known to be abusive. Paul's request was that authorities were not to be abusive but to treat their servants well.
Conclusion
Ephesians 5:21 demands submission one to another. That is respect is a two-way street. Following up those verses tell the demands for husbands and wives. Wives are expected to submit to their husbands. However, husbands are also told to love their wives. Nobody should be using Ephesians 5:25 to justify any form of spousal abuse. Instead, God demanded submission to one another. That is a husband too is to submit to his wife just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it.
If it's wrong for subordinates to rebel against authority in general then authorities shouldn't do anything that could justify rebellion. Any authority who fails to set by a good example usually ends up dying in lawless rebellions. Consider the fate of Emperor Nero when even the pagan Senate decided to declare his death due to his tyranny. Consider how some dictators fell also at the hands of godless men as God's judgment. If you want to be respected then respect others. If authorities need to deal with disrespect then deal with it without being disrespectful. It's all about treating each other right regardless of rank.