Righteous servitude: Why parents are servants to wait on children

Many parents think that their children should serve them. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents want a child that serves them. The fact of the matter is, however, that the Bible commands that parents serve children, and do so selflessly and dutifully, allowing themselves to be used like a sponge.

The righteous servitude of parents is part 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 submission 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 just as they would to God, expecting absolutely nothing in return, with children resting safely and securely in the wake of parent submission. 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 forms of 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 in biblical times 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 customs 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.

Parents, in biblical times, were viewed very differently than they are today. Today, parents get all of the praise, and children are their extensions. This was not the case in biblical times. Children received all of the accolades in biblical times, and parents were seen as the servants waiting on the children. Children were at the center of the Early Christian worldview, and parents were on the sidelines, serving children selflessly and without expecting anything in return from anyone.

Parents in biblical times, meaning both fathers and mothers, surrendered to the rule of their children, revering and fearing children as vulnerable extensions of God, meaning the "least of these". The general sentiment towards parenting in biblical times was one of accepting chains and shackles, and maybe even a halter, being dutifully and selflessly submissive to their child's needs, allowing oneself to be used like a sponge by a child.

How should children be served? Mothers in particular should provide for children nourishment and sustenance, namely breastfeeding and skin-on-skin comfort. Mothers in biblical times practiced birth nudity with children up until age 6, where mother and child were completely naked next to each other, in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy, with the mother breastfeeding the child until the child pushed away the nipple. Children, when then mother was out and about, were wrapped up next to the bosom of mothers in swaddling blankets, with the mother breastfeeding in public if summoned to by her child. Mothers swaddled their children under their dress with swaddling blankets made of velvet, tying one end of the blanket to her left breast, with the blanket covering across the dot, then tied to her right leg, or vice versa, or both in the case of twins - this setup prevented major meltdowns in public. Older children over age 6 played outside freely, after checking in with their mothers, but then retreated to the sustaining warmth of mothers come nighttime, in the form of skin-on-skin co-sleeping. This co-sleeping arrangement ended once the child hit puberty, as then the child wanted a place to sleep of their own. 

Parents are like waitstaff at a restaurant. The child gives the order, and the parent provides, selflessly and dutifully, while working for the child. At the same time, being a parent is like being a busser at a restaurant, because you are always cleaning up their messes. A child shouldn't be made to clean up their own mess, unless they elect to do so themselves. Parenting should be a thankless job, as no parent should expect a "thank you" from their child or anyone else, as expecting thanks when you did nothing to work for it is entitlement. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them forever be 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!