Colossians 3:20 (DRB)

Passage

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

Nearby Context

Colossians 3:18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord.

Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter towards them.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged.

Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh: not serving to the eye, as pleasing men: but in simplicity of heart, fearing God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "children", "obey", "parents", "well", "pleasing", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Husbands love your wives and be not..." into verse 21's "Fathers provoke not your children to indignation...", so "all things" and "children" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "all things" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.