My husband comes from a very close family. He has two brothers who are both married and his Father and Mother. His mother attends church every Sunday and has her own relationship with Christ, however, my husband's Dad and siblings do not. My father-in-law is an alcoholic and my brother-in-law is a heavy drinker which has allowed the two of them to have a very close relationship. Twisted but very true.
When we are all together, they all like to poke fun and make jokes about us "bible thumpers". They laugh and joke as if it's something to joke about. This is all done around my kids which is frustrating. I don't want them to think attending church is a joke or that they should be ashamed to tell anyone about God in fear they will get picked on. My husband has always been the son who didn't care about what his family thought of him but his brothers are the opposite. They see how critical my father-in-law is and are always wanting to please him that they are now pulling away from God in order to please him and it hurts to watch. When the conversations come up, we are quickly shot down with "well my Mom forced me to go to church and now I hate it so I don't feel like you should make yours go". YES, I understand that we shouldn't care what others think but this is my husband's parents and siblings. It's a tougher situation considering the relationship he has with all of them and our children. One brother has a two year old and the other brother will soon be starting his own family. My question is this, what do I say when we get the rude comments or the jokes about going to church and building our relationship with Christ? How do I handle this as the daughter-in-law to this very outspoken and sometimes mean family? How do I respond to being made to feel like I shouldn't make my kids go? Everyone seems to not want to stand up to my father-in-law.
When we are all together, they all like to poke fun and make jokes about us "bible thumpers". They laugh and joke as if it's something to joke about. This is all done around my kids which is frustrating. I don't want them to think attending church is a joke or that they should be ashamed to tell anyone about God in fear they will get picked on. My husband has always been the son who didn't care about what his family thought of him but his brothers are the opposite. They see how critical my father-in-law is and are always wanting to please him that they are now pulling away from God in order to please him and it hurts to watch. When the conversations come up, we are quickly shot down with "well my Mom forced me to go to church and now I hate it so I don't feel like you should make yours go". YES, I understand that we shouldn't care what others think but this is my husband's parents and siblings. It's a tougher situation considering the relationship he has with all of them and our children. One brother has a two year old and the other brother will soon be starting his own family. My question is this, what do I say when we get the rude comments or the jokes about going to church and building our relationship with Christ? How do I handle this as the daughter-in-law to this very outspoken and sometimes mean family? How do I respond to being made to feel like I shouldn't make my kids go? Everyone seems to not want to stand up to my father-in-law.