“The best brought-up children are those who have seen their parents as they are. Hypocrisy is not the parent’s first duty.” – George Bernard Shaw
This is an important one. All you have to do is think back to your own childhood
and remember how easily you could sense falseness and fakery in your parents.
You could tell when they were being hypocritical, you could tell when they were
trying to show the world this person you knew they were not. You may not have
known what the word ‘facade’ meant, but you knew it when you saw it.
If you think your children are any different you are fooling yourself. They know
you very well. They see you more than any other people see you. They know
when you are pretending and being hypocritical.
What are some examples of that?
- Saying they shouldn’t have sex outside of marriage, but they know you
are dating and having sex with someone. (by the way, if you think you are
fooling them and they don’t know, you aren’t and they do.) - Giving lip service to charity and community service, but they don’t see
you giving money or time to either. - Saying beauty comes from within, but they see you fret incessantly about
your looks and how you appear to others. and they see you judge others
harshly on their outside appearances.
I mention those because I have been guilty in all those areas, but there are
plenty of others we all can relate to. The point isn’t to be the perfect person,
the point is to be a real person. I am not suggesting you expose all your adult
secrets to a child. I am suggesting that you speak and live consistently for them.
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com