I love my son a little more than my daughter. I love my daughter too but my son and I are inseparable. Daughter is 13 and son is 11.
I want to love them equally, but he’s jsut a favorite and maybe because boys and boys you know.
I do think in the Bible that there was a little favoritism in there as well right?
OK, your parents fess up now..
There were definitely cases of parents favoring certain offspring in the Bible but it usually had disastrous results (Joseph and his brothers; Jacob and Esau, each favored by the other parent, etc.) and generally wound up with siblings wanting to kill each other.
But favoritism is part of human nature... I don't know what God's solution is for this. The inverse of this question is would be, "Do your children each have a favorite parent -- and how does that make you feel? How would your react if you wind up being the least-favorite parental figure?"
After all, you might feel less close to your daughter -- and she might grow up feeling the same way, with her heart favoring her mother.
I can't say I favor either of my parents but I definitely have favorites among groups of people -- co-workers, church members, etc.
I've often heard that God has "favorites" -- David, Abraham, etc. -- but along with it also seems to come higher standards and stricter discipline.
Your post really has me thinking, but at the opposite end of the spectrum.
I don't have kids, but I'm at an age where the story is changing for most of the people I know. When kids are young, parents control everything. But when parents grow old, the narrative flips -- and the difference between one child being favored over another might also mean that same favoritism comes back to bite them later on.
For instance, it might mean the difference between the less favored child putting that parent in a nursing home and forgetting about them vs. lovingly caring for them in their later years. I've known people who were the less favorite, and it affected their entire life.
However, I also know firsthand that you can't force yourself to feel close to someone you're not close to, especially when you don't seem to have anything in common.
I don't know what the solutions are -- and of course, sometimes it all falls apart no matter how hard someone tries.
But it's definitely a thought-provoking topic and I thank you for bringing it up.
I'm also hoping... That your daughter won't ever find your post stating that you love her a little less. I understand and appreciate your sharing with us, but...
I just know that as a daughter, how that would make me feel if I saw my father had written that.
