Hebrews 13:7

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Submission becomes much easier when authority is tied to truth instead of ego. That is the heartbeat of this verse. The writer is not telling people to blindly copy a personality or bow to somebody’s opinions. He is talking about leaders who have spoken unto you the word of God. That changes everything.

A parent, a pastor, a teacher, a leader has real influence when their words are anchored in Scripture. Not just, “Do this because I said so,” but, “Here is why this matters. Here is what God says. Here is how His Word shows us the better way.” That kind of leadership carries weight because it is not built on mood or control. It is built on truth.

Here’s the thing. People usually rebel when authority feels empty, harsh, or arbitrary. Kids are no different. If all they hear is command after command without any glimpse of God’s heart behind it, eventually it starts to sound like rules stacked on rules. But when a mom or dad opens the Word and says, “Let me show you why honesty matters,” or, “Let me show you what happened when pride got hold of a man,” or, “Let me show you how Jesus treated people,” something deeper begins to happen. They are not just hearing your rule. They are hearing God’s wisdom.

That is why this verse says to consider the end of their conversation. Look at the outcome of their life. Watch where their faith leads. A leader worth following is not merely one who talks well, but one whose life has a certain fragrance to it. There is steadiness there. There is integrity there. There is a life that keeps pointing back to the Lord.

Think about that. A road sign is only helpful if it points in the right direction. It does not matter how polished it looks if it sends you the wrong way. In the same way, authority is helpful when it keeps pointing people toward Jesus and His Word. That is true in the pulpit, and it is true at the dinner table.

And there is encouragement here for parents too. The Holy Spirit really will bring things to your remembrance. In the middle of family devotions, in a hard conversation, in an ordinary moment over dinner, the Lord can bring a verse, a story, a truth right back to mind. But you cannot draw water from a well you never filled. That is why reading the Word matters so much. Store it up. Hide it in your heart. Then when the moment comes, God has something there to bring forward.

So love is seen in submission, yes—but godly submission grows best where authority is soaked in Scripture. Teach the Word. Live the Word. Point your family to the Word. And over time, the life behind those words will preach louder than the words themselves.