We may joke that sometimes when we mess up "there goes our parent of the year award" all in fun, but the truth is there are many parents out there who aren't making honest mistakes in everyday parenting, in truth, they are absent in parenting, not accepting responsibility in their role as a parent, and even extreme cases of abuse or neglect by evil or hurtful deadbeat parents.
As I was thinking about Mother's Day and Father's Day sermons for the holidays it got me thinking that some people probably dislike these holidays because they have/had a horrible mom/dad. It's hard to honor or celerate someone who is absent, neglectful, selfish, violent, an addict, or mean. Not everyone has a loving mother or father.
It takes no effort to be a sperm donor or a baby mama, but it takes alot of hard work and responsibility to be a responsible, loving, and good parent figture. Some womem get pregnant at the drop of a hat or some guys go around sleeping with everyone they can find without even consdering the consequences and we end up having alot of babies being born into a world where their parents don't want them or in cases where they do keep them, they don't care for them properly or the way they should. Children need nurtinging physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, as well as taught respect, honesty, and how to treat others, just to mention a few of the roles of responsible parents.
Truth is not everyone grows up with that or gets to experience that and it's easy for us that grew up in a fairly stable or normal home to not understand or get why people are angry, bitter, or end up the way they do. We are a product many times of our home environment, I know there are definitel exceptions to the rule, but many children grow up not being treated well, loved in healthy ways, or being taught respect, compassion, or responsibility. They grow up around hate, neglect, abuse, drugs, alchol, sex, violence, vulgar language, and the list continues of negative attritbutes and experiences they pick up on and live through, no matter celebrating mom or dad isn't at the top of their list.
I want to encourage you today to love on those who don't or didn't have a good mother or father figure. Many of us can be a mother or father figure to those kids at church or our chlidren's friends, or kids on our kids ball teams or cheering squad. We can invite them to our home for family times and functions so that they see and experience what a family should look like. We also can pray for them, and encourage your children to model for them good behaviors. We can also report cases of neglect and suspected abuse if we notice it.
The most important thing we can do is not enable or dismiss poor behavior by kids, do not use their homelife or situation as an excuse to let them get by with disrespect, lying, or bad behavior. That is the worst thing we can do for them, we need to model and teach them these positive behaviors and correct them, so they know that isn't normal or accepted if they are acting out.
There are good mothers and fathers out there, praise God! We also have a Heavenly parent, our Father, God, who is ultimate example of love, discipline, and how we should live and act. Let's be good parents, and let's help those who don't have good parents to see, there is hope, and our situation or circumstnaces don't have to determine our future, and not all parents bad.
Matthew 6:14NIV
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
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