Ephesians 6:4-6 -- On Children, Masters, and Focusing on God

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;"
Ephesians 6:4-6


I like the idea here of the nurture and admonition of the Lord... God cares for us, but also admonishes us and helps us know when we are straying off the path. That's part of his love... wanting us to improve and be all we can be.

I also like the idea that not only should we treat our children as God would, but that we should serve our masters (in this case perhaps our employers) as though we were serving Christ as well--not just going through the motions or doing the bare minimum, but sincerely throwing ourselves into our jobs and finding the good and the joy... learning to love what we do.

These definitely aren't things that are always easy to do, but they do feel worth doing... treating more people the way that we would like to be treated, even if they aren't doing so in return, much as God loves us. Today, let's remember that inasmuch as we treat people good or bad, it is like doing it to Christ, and let's take that to heart with kids, with our employers, and in whatever other situations we are in today.