Passage
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Colossians 3:20 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Colossians 3:18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.
Colossians 3:22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but with integrity of heart, fearing the Lord.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "all things", "children", "obey", "parents", "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 do not..." into verse 21's "Fathers do not exasperate your children so...", 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.