Colossians 3:21

Fathers, provoke not your children that they be not discouraged.

This should be read against the stern and tyrannical background of the father's absolute control over his children, as in the Roman Empire when these words were written. As Barclay said:

A parent could do anything he liked with his child. He could sell him into slavery ... he even had the right to condemn his child to death and carry out the execution himself.[44]

In current times, the pendulum has swung the other way; and it is the duty of children to obey their parents that needs emphasis (Ephesians 6:1-3).