785 英翻中 (485) Honor your parents, for this is the fifth of the Ten Commandments. 當孝敬父母, 因為這是十誡中的第五誡. 01/07/2024

785 英翻中 (485)         Honor your parents, for this is the fifth of the Ten Commandments.                                                                         當孝敬父母, 因為這是十誡中的第五誡.                         01/07/2024  

2.  Parents and Children: Encouragement and Obedience (3:20–21)                                                  2.  父母與子女：鼓勵和順服（3：20–21）

There were children in these Christian homes, and Paul addressed part of his letter to them. The normal result of marriage is the bearing of children, and fortunate are those children who are born into Christian homes where there is love and submission. “Be fruitful and multiply” was God’s order to our first parents (Gen. 1:28), and this order was given before man sinned. The marriage relationship and the bearing of children are not sinful; rather, they are part of God’s mandate to man. In the begetting and bearing of children, the husband and wife share in the creative activity of God.                                                                                                                            在這些有基督信仰的家中有孩子，保羅給他們的信中，部分是給他們的。婚姻的正常結果是生男育女，出生在充滿愛與順服的基督教家庭中的孩子是幸福的。上帝對我們的第一對父母提出  “要生養眾多，遍滿地面” 的命令（創   1:28），而這個命令是在人類犯罪之前發出的。婚姻關係和生育子女並非犯罪。相反，它們是上帝賦予人使命的一部分。在孩子的生育和成長中，夫妻分享上帝的創造的旨意。

A great deal is being said about the rights of children, and they do have rights. One of them is the right to be born. Another is the right to be born into a dedicated Christian home where they will be raised in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). They have the right to have godly parents who will teach them the Word of God and discipline them in love. 

 John H. Starkey was a violent British criminal. He murdered his own wife, then was convicted for the crime and executed. The officials asked General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, to conduct Starkey’s funeral. Booth faced as ugly and mean a crowd as he had ever seen in his life, but his first words stopped them and held them: “John H. Starkey never had a praying mother!” 

 Children have rights, but they also have responsibilities, and their foremost responsibility is to obey. They are to obey “in all things” and not simply in those things that please them. Will their parents ever ask them to do something that is wrong? Not if the parents are submitted to the Lord and to one another, and not if they love each other and their children. 

 The child who does not learn to obey his parents 690 D.In daily work—3:22—4:1 Colossians 3—4 is not likely to grow up obeying any authority. He will defy his teachers, the police, his employers, and anyone else who tries to exercise authority over him. The breakdown in authority in our society reflects the breakdown of authority in the home. 

For the most part, children do not create problems; they reveal them. Parents who cannot discipline themselves cannot discipline their children. If a father and mother are not under authority themselves, they cannot exercise authority over others. It is only as parents submit to each other and to the Lord that they can exercise properly balanced spiritual and physical authority over their children. 

The measure of the child’s obedience is “all things,” and the motive is to please the Lord. It is possible to please the parents and not please the Lord, if the parents are not yielded to the Lord. The family that lives in an atmosphere of love and truth, that reads the Word of God, and that prays together will have an easier time discovering God’s will and pleasing the Lord.                    用 “所有的事” 來測試兒童順服父母，其動機是取悅主。如果父母不屈服於主，有可能取悅父母而不取悅主。一家人在愛與真理的氣氛下生活，讀懂了上帝的聖言，並一起祈禱，會更容易發現上帝的旨意，並取悅主。

The word fathers in Colossians 3:21 could be translated “parents,” as it is in Hebrews 11:23. Paul made it clear that parents must make it as easy as possible for children to obey. “Provoke not your children” (Col. 3:21) is a commandment to parents, and how often it is disobeyed! Too often, parents automatically say no when their children ask for something, when the parents should listen carefully and evaluate each request. Parents often change their minds and create problems for their children, sometimes by swinging from extreme permissiveness to extreme legalism.           在希伯來書11章23節中，與歌羅西書3章21節中的“父親”可譯為  “父母”。保羅明確指出，父母必須讓孩子盡可能容易地順服他們。“不要招惹你們的孩子”（西  3:21）是對父母的誡命，可見常久以來，都是不順服的！  父母常常會在孩子他們的請求時，毫不加考慮的，自動就拒絕，其實應該認真傾聽他們後，並評估孩子的請求後才下結論。父母常常改變主意，給孩子們帶來麻煩，常常是從極端的嬌縱變到極端的律厲。

Fathers and mothers should encourage their children, not discourage them. One of the most important things parents can do is spend time with their children. A survey in one town indicated that fathers spent only thirty-seven seconds a day with their small sons! It is an encouragement for children to know that their parents, as busy as they are, take time—make time—to be with them.                                                                                                                                                          父母應該鼓勵孩子，而不是使他們洩氣。父母能做的最重要的事情之一，就是陪伴孩子。在某鎮上進行的一項調查顯示，每天父親只化了37秒時間與他的小兒子在一起！ 這顯示父母鼓勵孩子們知道自己的父母是多麼的忙碌，儘管父母很忙，卻要花一些時間（抽出時間）與他們在一起。

Parents also need to listen and be patient as their children talk to them. A listening ear and a loving heart always go together. “You took time to have me,” a child said to her father, “but you won’t take time to listen to me!” What an indictment!                                                                        父母在孩子與他們交談時，也需要保持有耐心的來傾聽。充滿愛心的傾聽總是有效的。一位女孩子對她父親說，“你擁有了我，却不肯花時間聽我說話！”  多麼理直氣壯的控訴！

Life is not easy for children, especially Christian children. Their problems might seem small to us, but they are quite large to them! Christian parents must listen carefully, share the feelings and frustrations of their children, pray with them, and seek to encourage them. Home ought to be the happiest and best place in all the world!                                                                                                生活本身對兒童自己不容易，尤其是有基督信仰家庭的兒童。他們的問題對父母來說似乎很小，但對他們自己來說卻夠大！基督徒父母必須認真傾聽，分享孩子的感受和挫折感，與他們一起祈禱，並努力鼓勵他們。家應該是全世界最喜樂，最美好的地方！

Discouraged children are fair prey for Satan and the world. When a child does not get “ego-strength” at home, he will seek it elsewhere. It is a pity that some Christian parents do not help their children develop their personalities, their gifts, and their skills. It is even worse when Christian parents compare one child with another and thereby set up unnecessary competition in the home.                                                                                                                                                  灰心喪志的孩子是撒旦和世俗的獵物。當孩子在家中無法獲得  “自我的發揮” 時，他會去其他地方尋求幫助。遺憾的是一些基督徒父母沒有幫助他們的孩子發展自己的個性，天賦，和技能。當基督徒父母將自己孩子在家裡分別進行比較時，這種不必要的競爭中，情況更是惡劣。

Parents sometimes use their children as weapons for fighting against each other. Father will forbid Junior from doing something, but Mother will veto that order and give her approval. The poor child is caught between his parents, and before long he learns how to play both ends against the middle. The result is moral and spiritual tragedy.                                                                    父親與母親有時會利用自己的孩子，作為彼此敵對的武器。當父親要禁止喬麗(Junior)作某事，母親立刻在一旁阻止，並反對他這樣做。這個可憐的孩子夾在父母爭奪之間，不久她就學會了如何在兩者之間玩把戲。結果她就造道德和屬靈上的悲劇。

If a home is truly Christian, it is a place of encouragement. In such a home, the child finds refuge from battles, and yet strength to fight the battles and carry the burdens of growing maturity. He finds a loving heart, a watching eye, a listening ear, and a helping hand. He does not want any other place—home meets his needs. In this kind of a home, it is natural for the child to trust Christ and want to live for Him.                                                                                                            若是真正有基督信仰的家庭，那是接受鼓勵的地方。在這樣的家庭中，孩子可以避開家庭的不和，但仍具有戰鬥能力，並承擔著日趨成熟的重擔。他尋找到慈愛的心，関注的眼神，傾聽的耳朵，和援助的手。他再不要想去任何其他地方尋找，自己的家已滿足他的需求。在這種家庭中，孩子自然會相信基督耶穌, 並想為祂而活。