Simmering down

I'm ticked. It happened on Monday and I'm still a bit miffed about this. I consider myself a fairly forgiving person, but this insult was pretty intense. In the course of a facebook discussion on taxes, a friend of a friend made a statement that not only should the child tax write-off be done away with, but people should PAY a tax on each child. I can see where he is coming from with the tax write-off, but taxing people for having kids? Really? Doesn't China do that? How's it working for them? This person went on to make a direct comparison that not only flabbergasted me, but made me really angry. This person compared having a child to playing video games. Seriously. He went on to say that, based on my FB profile pic, that my child is 'obviously your hobby and playstation is mine.' What????? My hobby? Sorry pal, a child isn't a hobby.

This struck a pretty sensitive nerve with me. At first I felt quite insulted, that my role as a mother was being demeaned, but then I realized why I was so angry. The anger wasn't directed as much at this person, but at our society's view of parenting. It seems that our society views parenting as a side activity, not an investment. A child as a mere hobby? I assure you, if I had wanted another hobby I certainly would have chosen a hobby that didn't poop, wake up at odd hours of the night and put an end to sleeping past 7:30am. Perhaps if this person had a child of his own, he'd understand that a child is no hobby. Then again, he might not.

Fortunately, the Lord does not see parenting in the same way. We are told to diligently teach our children about God (Deut. 6:6-7). My desire is to help my child want to choose Christ. That's certainly not a hobby that can be laid aside at any given moment; instead it's a lifestyle of decisions, commitments and sacrifice- much of which I've yet to learn. So friend-of-a-facebook-friend, I wouldn't recommend comparing a child to a playstation hobby again. Ever.

Perhaps I should try to simmer down now.