Toby Sumpter offers some insights into the 5th commandment. Here is his conclusion:
It is true that parents must teach their children to honor and obey them. But that is only practice for honoring and obeying God. The ultimate aim of parenting is not to try to get your children to obey you. The point of parenting is to get your children to love and honor and obey God. The “fat” isn’t for you. The “fat” belongs to the Lord. And they learn how to glorify God best as they see you doing it, as they hear you talking about it, as they believe that you mean it. It’s no accident that Paul exhorts all of the members of the church in Ephesus to imitate God like children (Eph. 5:1, 5:8), and then proceeds to command children to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1). When you teach your children to obey, you are merely calling on them to imitate you as you imitate Christ, as you honor your Father.
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