Ephesians 6:1 states… “Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord, because this is right.”

Obeying parents is an imperative but there must be an endpoint to a child being obligated to obey every directive of a parent. When is this? What does it look like? 

Going back to the beginning, the Scripture states in Genesis 2:24 that “A man must leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they are to become one flesh.” This is a two step process – 1. Leave and 2. Cleave. 

Step One: The man ‘leaves’ his parents and not just for 13 weeks to go to school. He ‘leaves’ his parent’s umbrella of protection and provision.  

The young man is now taking on the responsibility to protect and provide for himself and soon for others. Think ‘full time job and place to live’. He hopefully will be open to wise counsel from dad and mom, but he is no longer under their roof and responsibility. He has officially been  ‘launched’ (See Psalms 127). 

Step Two: When he is ready, he takes the step to cleave to his wife. Together, they become a new and distinct family unit. It would be utterly inappropriate for either of them to continue to be in a position to ‘obey their parents’. That has ended and a new season of life has begun. 

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