I heard about a child who was adopted into a family when he was ten years old. He was having a little difficultly feeling truly accepted by his new family until the day came when his father said to him, "Here's your set of chores." The child said, "When I knew that I had been given certain responsibilities, just like all the other kids, I knew I was on my way to being accepted," Then he added, "But I knew I was fully accepted when my dad punished me for failing to complete my chores. He punished me just the same as he did the other kids when they failed to do their chores, no desert that night and no watching TV until the job was done the next day. That's when I knew I was really a part of the family."
Acceptance means being included into a group, with the same status, same rules, same consequences, same treatment. Showing acceptance means treating a person just as you would like to be treated.
Anytime you seek to give love and care to another person, you must examine your motives and ask, Am I willing to accept this persson just as he or she is?
2 comments:
So true - you need to teach a damn class or something. You know, you probably are a teacher or a pastor...but this is some good stuff.
I am far from religious. In fact the God that I would believe in would not would not be the God that is confined to any one people's version of religion and that would have me ostracized from many groups. But I must say, that there are times when I enjoy reading what you write. When you speak of faith and not intimidation as others might. When you speak of love and not fear which can be found elsewhere. When you ask for reflection rather than rejection and I find peace. This piece is one such example.
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