Righteous ordering: Why children call the shots (not parents)

Many parents think that they call the shots when it comes to giving orders. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents think they are in charge of their children, and thus have total authority over children. The fact of the matter is that children have the right to issue lawful orders towards their parents, and parents have the right to shut up and take those orders. 

Righteous ordering denotes the child's end of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission. See Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and grace of parents. Children are to rest securely in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Parents are to be extensions of Christ in the family home, dutifully and selflessly submitting to children as they would to God, expecting absolutely nothing in return, with children resting safely and securely in the wake of the submission of parents. Parents are to submit to children as their enemy, from beneath yet from above, revering and fearing children as vulnerable extensions of God. 

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all punitive parenting, including any punishments or controlling demeanor towards children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating your child as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christian parents who brought their pagan custom of spanking and punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child in his writings.

Children, in biblical times, had lawful authority over their parents, and had the right to issue lawful orders to parents. Parents had the obligation to obey all orders that were workable and conformed with the Law from their children. Parents had no rights to issue lawful orders of their own on minor children. Parents also could not sue their minor or dependent children at law, as when a parent took their child to court in the Early Church, the church elders always found a way to side with the child, even in cases where the child gave the parents a beating. The parents were forced to apologize to their child, and forgive their child, even when the child was behaving violently or disruptively.

In most cases, children issued orders, by the standard under Christian law, by crying. Whenever a child cried, mothers were obligated to respond to the every cry of the child with sustaining warmth. Most of the time, the child just wanted to be held in skin-on-skin format. Mothers and children were completely naked in the family home, and that made it easier for mothers to bond with their children in skin-on-skin format, as well as hastened the bonding process. Older children issued orders by giving direct orders to parents. 

Parents in biblical times were seen by society then as servants, with children being seen as next to God. Parents were afraid of their children, and reverently so. All parents could do towards minor children in their defense was plead for a child to stop doing something, from the bottom of their heart. Children had the lawful authority to issue the orders, with parents being in a servile place in relation to those orders. 

Honoring parents only applied to adults, and only in specified situations under the Law where children repeatedly beat their parents (see also Exod. 21:15), imposed a gaslighting curse on their parents (see also Lev. 20:9), and committing moral crimes that bring shame to your mother (see also Deut. 21:18-21). Apart from those specific instances, parents were considered in biblical times to be the property of their children, and were there for children to use for their own benefit, from the very beginning with babies suckling the teat of mothers. Adult descendants were never put to death for dishonoring parents, but some fathers hesistantly whipped their errant young adult sons for repeatedly abusing them.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be forever cast into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!