Children deserve unconditional love

Apparently Alec Baldwin really doesn't get it. He at least admits to being sorry for getting angry, although whether he is sorry for what he said is hard to say. What's disturbing is that what he is most saddened about is that the recording was released to the media. Way to go Alec! Instead of being most saddened by the impact a tirade like that can have on his daughter's emotional well being, he instead rationalizes his behavior by stating "...told by numerous people not to worry too much, as all parents lose their patience with their kids...". I think there is a difference between losing your patience and unleashing a tirade that most likely cut to the core of his daughter's sense of self worth and value. It's a pretty safe bet that even without all this press, his daughter will never forget those words. How could anyone forget words like that when spoken by a parent and directed at your person.

As parents, I believe it helpful to follow God's example. God loves us no matter what we do, yet He doesn't necessarily love what we do. The difference is that one focuses on the person and the other focuses on the behavior. We need to love our children no matter what. Yet we don't have to love their behavior. Love the sinner, but not the sin. If more people would get that, I believe we'd have a lot less conflict and hurting people in the world. I also believe this is why Christianity is sometimes portrayed in a bad light.

Take the issues of homosexuality, pornography, gambling, alcoholism, etc. As a Christian one must remember that we are to love God first and people second. Not that we are to love the lovable people second. As Christ said in Luke chapter 6, even sinner's love the lovable. We're called to love sinners and our enemies. Christ showed this sort of love with the adulterous woman. He loved her as a person by stopping her impending stoning. Yet he commanded her to stop her adulterous ways. Love the sinner, not the sin. Separate the person from their actions. Alec Baldwin confused the two when he uttered "You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK?" or "You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being."

I pray that some good will come out of all the publicity this story is receiving. I hope that some parents will "get it" and understand that their words cut deeper than the sharpest knife. Lift your children up instead of beating them down.