Insights from Unexpected Places

I'm reading Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships by Dr. Temple Grandin and Sean Barron. It has special relevance if you are related to or teaching anyone with ASD ( related to autism). But two quotes in particular jumped out at me that seemed appropriate for anyone working with children and for believers wrestling with justice and mercy.

on pg 140 Temple says, "In short, my mother was fond of reminding me that childhood is a temporary state. Both of my parents admitted that childhood is essentially very stressful and that most of the traits prized in children have little to do with adult achievement or functionality. Without them impressing the importance of this little secret on me, I might not have been able to keep going through high school." Temple grew up in the 50's - higher expectations for children, more structure and consistency between home, school, and neighbors. She was also more task-oriented than people-oriented.

[Context: Children are taught to tell the truth but as children get older they learn when it's appropriate and when it isn't. As a child, Sean was very honest with his host about hating the salad she made.] On pg. 142 Sean says, "When I responded to people in these and similar ways, I ended up with truth and few friends. And friends are a lot more fun to hang out with than absolute truth* ... " He learned that ". . . it's better to stretch the truth a little than to hurt someone a lot. . . the only absolute rule of life is that there are few absolutes..."

*You might disagree here but I think both insights are profound. I thought Temple's comment profound because I think sometimes it's hard to let kids be kids AND prepare them well for adult life. I thought Sean's comment profound because Jesus is the Truth yet, the Gospels show Him spending a LOT of time with people and apparently they enjoyed being with Him. They followed Him. Do you enjoy hanging out with people who only care about Absolute Truth?