All he needs is a good spanking.
Why don’t you get him into another school that’s better at
special Ed?
You need to be doing more with and for your teenagers. You need to find help for your son so you can
do that.
Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine.
Are you sure he has autism?
I’m sure everyone reading this post could add many more
comments. One might ask, what do I say
and do? Well, just like most things in
the Christian life, it’s a wisdom issue. It is always good to respond with
kindness and gentleness. That will be a
test of Christian character. If you are
so hurt that you find it difficult to respond as you know Christ would want,
here are some things you might do.
1. Send up a quick prayer for God’s supernatural
power to get through this situation well.
What do I mean by well? For me
that would be to maintain my composure until I’m out of the situation. I don’t want to have a big emotional response
either by crying or showing my anger.
Many times this is a task I can’t do without God’s help.
2. If I have a strong emotional response
“on the inside” I should answer the
question with a measured response. I
might say “I’m going to have to think about that one.” Another response could be, “I’ll get back to
you about that.”
3. If you want to have a definitive
answer or want a person to “refrain from commenting on the subject” you may
need some firmness. Firmness can be
seasoned with grace but it is hard to do.
Some prayer will help. It helps when
you pray about your attitude and emotions.
Also, praying for God’s wisdom on how to “execute” your thoughts and
desires is equally important. Some responses may be, “That’s an area that is
family decision” or “We are evaluating a number of things currently but are
limiting non-family input to our pediatrician and children’s pastor.” This is only when you need to put your foot
down with another’s meddling. Many times
a gentler answer is warranted.
4. There are times where it’s easiest to
just ignore a comment or make a non-committal comment like, “that’s an angle I
haven’t thought about” or “interesting.”
This is not an easy subject. It is one that you will grow in if you seek
to honor the Lord. There will probably
be mistakes in handling things too weakly or too strongly. Keep working at it as you seek the Lord’s
help.
