Little Johnny Doe has a potty mouth and a bad influence on my children, what can I do? My acquaintance Janey said rude things about my kid, how can I handle it? My relatives despite my request still feeds my kids junk food?
Oh for heaven sakes, speak up! If little Johny is a bad influence then don't allow Johny to hang out at your house. If your acquaintance is saying rude things about your kids then tell them that it's not acceptable. Tell your relatives NO!! Why is it so hard??
I know it's hard because we have been spooned fed by SOCIETY that we should live and let live. You know believing that other people should be allowed to live their lives in the way that they want to and that we shouldn't interfere with it! When will people stop eating this garbage!
Look when something is wrong, then speak up! It really is the Christian thing to do! Don't be afraid to speak you mind! If little Johny is a bad influence then tell little Johny that he is no longer allowed on YOUR property, or go talk to his parents. Let them know about the bad things that Johny has said or done. If they don't want to deal with it fine, but that doesn't mean you have have to let him on your property.
If Janey was a half way descent person then telling her that her rude comments about YOUR children is not acceptable shouldn't be a problem. If it is then it really isn't a worth wild friendship!
God has entrusted you with your children, so speak up, don't allow others to give them food, or things that you feel is inappropriate. Yes, I know that it's hard when it's family, and family tends to have more of that live and let live mentality. However, letting live would also mean that THEY would not infringe on your rights. It is a two way street you know! Think about??
As I said it's a Christian thing to do! Often Mathew 7:1 is quoted:
Judge not, that you be not judged
But what about John 7:24
Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment
Or Lev. 19:15
You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
When judging a person we are not making a judgement on the state of their soul. Only God can judge someone's soul. We can how ever make judgments on people's behavior and we can act accordingly, assuming that we are not being hypocrites.
We can't tell someone not to say rude things about our kids and turn around say rude things about theirs. If our kids have rude behavior, then we need to correct it before dealing with the neighbor kids. We can't get on someone for feeding our kids junk food and then turn around and feed junk food to our kids or feed it to other kids.
If this still doesn't sit well with people then keep in mind every time we VOTE we are casting judgment on the person we are voting for and NOT voting for; most Christians do not have an issue with voting.
For Further Reading: Judge Not?
Hmm...never thought about it that way before. Thanks for the insight!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts remind me very much of one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy:
ReplyDelete"Admonish the Sinner"...this is what that means...to love our brothers and sisters in Christ enough that when we see someone sinning, we will say to them "Please don't that...it's not right and it's not good for your soul"...we also have to be willing to HEAR it when we are the one in need of admonishment...this is why I'm so thankful for true friends...for I know I can trust them to admonish me when I need it :)
I do think people have a hard time with speaking up because they fear the isolation that could set in through the possible rejection they will face IF they speak up.
Thanks for the great post SAHM!
Thank-you Judy for sharing your thoughts. I think you are right when you say that people are afraid of what "may" happen if they do speak-up.
ReplyDeleteYour statements remind mind me of Mathew 25; how we are judge, by God, on what we have done and what we have FAILED to do.
We may be afraid of what my happen here in this life time, but what do we say to God when he outlines all the things we have failed to do.
Great post. I really think this is a core problem in our society. Everyone is so into "me" and what "I" want, that we are afriad to speak up. We no longer help each other out with parenting. Remember when we were kids and we were doing something wrong? A neighbor would have told us to knock it off. As a mom I cannot have my eyes on my children 100% of the time, and let's face it our children (am we) are not perfect. So instead of thinking we are attacking, you've reminded me it is my duty to gently correct. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI can't find the right post to leave this comment. . .but thanks for the information about the Jefferson Method. You have me interested, I'll have to do some research.
Tami- Here is the link to the Jefferson Method in case you need it again: http://catholicchristianhomeschooling.blogspot.com/2009/07/thomas-jefferson-method-of.html
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking into it as well. Also thanks for the comments, your right it's about gently correcting.
Also on a different note: There is a search bar on the side bar that will allow you to search this blog for things.
For example Jefferson Method. It will pull up any relevant post here on this blog, blogs and sites I link too, and the WWW in general.
FYI: I moved the search bar to the bottom of the page right after the posts. This was to help with the page load speed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. It is so true. I'm encouraged that we're on one accord on the matter. I needed that encouragement.
ReplyDeleteZinnada<><
Zinnada- You're welcome, and thanks for visiting my blog. I'll see you around THL :) (my screen name there is the same as it is here on the blog SAHMinIL)
ReplyDeleteWonderful post... so true. We do not have to let our kids be around rude children.
ReplyDelete