A Different view of abusers

We've all seen parents who scream at their toddlers in grocery stores. Or become squemish when we hear parents threaten kids with a spanking for a small infraction. I've even heard about parents who left their baby in a hot car who died while they played games.

I used to think that these people were horrible and beyond redemption. And I would see these terrible parents and judge them because I thought that I was so much better than them. Then I worked at a day care and got to understand how these parents felt. I agree that it is wrong to abuse children, but I also think that children need to be disciplined. When the children didn't do what I asked them to do, I put them in time out and would yell at them. Well, some people thought that I was being mean to the kids and judged me-like the abusive parents.

I felt really bad being judged, but I learned how to see abusers as God sees them. The first thing that I learned is that it isn't easy being a parent. Parents have to have the right balance of love and discipline. When a child is out of control and you don't know how to calm him down, it can be stressful. It is even more stressful when everyone is watching you ready to criticize whatever you do to get your kid to calm down. Then when people catch you making a mistake, they condemn you and don't give you redemption. And no one ever forgets what you did and remind you every chance they get.

But God isn't like that. God is willing to forgive anyone who is sorry for their sins and willing to repent. He doesn't want child abusers to spend their lives dwelling on their sins and feeling guilty. He wants them to embrace His forgiveness, turn from their sins, and be reconciled with Him. I think that some of them should go to prison, if they have severely abused their children, but they also desserve to be forgiven.