OBEDIENCE An Important Childhood Lesson?

"PARENTS WANT Individuals, Not Kids Who Obey."  So read a newspaper headline. This bit of reporting was based on the results of a survey done in New Zealand, which revealed that only "22 percent of respondents thought children should be taught obedience at home." The survey also found that parents today believe that it is far more important to teach children such matter as good manners, independence, and responsibility.

In this age of individualism and self-interest, it is not surprising that most people hold a dim view of obedience and of teaching it to children. But is childhood obedience simply to be dismissed as something old-fashioned and out-of-date?  Or is it among the important lessons  that children can learn and benefit from?  (Note: Judging from  people I have met, including children, no one bothers to even discipline them, much less teach manners; and yes, it would benefit them and everyone else greatly)  More important, how does Jehovah God, the Originator of the family arrangement, view obedience to parents, and what are some of the benefits that flow from such obedience? -Acts 17:28; Ephesians 3:14, 15. 

Next time: "This Is Righteous" 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2001