What does the Bible say about the role of parents?

Luke 11:11-13“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Hebrews 12:5-11Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?

Parents must love their children. That means more than just giving them good gifts; it also involves discipline.

1 Samuel 8:1-3As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

Proverbs 1:8My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

2 Timothy 3:15You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood.

Parents are to take responsibility for teaching their children to love God and his Word. This requires more than being an example. Yet eventually children bear the responsibility for their own lives.

Deuteronomy 4:9“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.”

Deuteronomy 6:6-9“You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Parents are responsible not only to teach their children biblical values, but also to consistently model for them lives of obedience.

Proverbs 3:12The Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Hebrews 12:11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

Parents are to discipline their children with consistency and out of love, not anger. Parental anger often produces angry children, leading to another generation of angry parents.

Genesis 25:28Isaac loved Esau . . . but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Genesis 37:3-4Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

Parents are not to show favoritism between children. The results are tragic and have negative consequences for generations.

Deuteronomy 4:9-10“Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’”

1 Samuel 2:29“Why do you [Eli] give your sons more honor than you give me [the Lord]—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!”

Parents must make sure that God is honored as the head of the household. Eli’s sons were rarely challenged and never disciplined. Too often the home revolves around the children instead of around God. Parents do their children a favor when they sincerely seek what God wants for their children, not what they want. Indulgent parents do not help their children develop character and often enable self-destructive tendencies in their children.

Luke 15:20“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”

The mark of a loving parent is a willingness to forgive.