I thought I'd switched but to backpedal and clarify the role playing of the family from a biblical perspective. The man is the head of the house but the wife is to be the agressor. It starts with the wife that she submits to the husband, so the children too submit to his headship. Its not about the father being the childrens buddies but to nurture them in the ways of the LORD.
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Who's supposed to start it? The wives! In Ephesians 6:1 we find,
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. and then in verse 4, Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
What does that mean? God gives the command first to the follower. He says, "I want the wife to do her job first". That means He wants the child to obey the first. That means He wants the child to obey even if the dad is never the right kind of dad. To obey regardless! Now lets look at another example from the Word of God,
Eph 6:5 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;
and then in verse 9 the masters are exhorted to be good masters. God always puts on the follower the burden of having the initiative and the being aggressive. Wives, you do it first. Children, you do it first. Servants you do it first.
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