About 47% of moms say they feel judged for how they parent, according to a 2023 Pew Research report. The survey determined that almost half of us feel judged in particular by other parents in our community, and a third of us feel judged for how we parent by our friends and people we interact with online.
The same research showed that mothers struggle with this challenge more than fathers, but about a third of fathers reported a similar struggle with judgment.
This widespread, negative perception of our parenting skills has taken a toll on us.
And these voices have a profound impact on our overall well-being as parents, according to a prior study by Pew Research in 2014.
The 2014 study found “that those who gave themselves high ratings as parents were among the most likely to say they were very happy with their life. The reverse was true, too …. [H]ow mothers and fathers see themselves as parents is clearly linked to their overall sense of well-being.”
As a parent, my quiet confidence gives way to miserable inadequacy in an instant sometimes — with a side glance, a late arrival, a public display of attention. Suddenly, I’m lost in a noise of judgment and criticism real or perceived.
God’s Word tells me we are meant to take counsel, but we are not subject to the heavy burden of ever-present criticism from ourselves or others.
We serve only one voice. When you hear many, hear One. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men …. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24) (emphasis added).
God’s voice reigns over all other voices. Isaiah 2:22 says, “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?”
We have one Master, we cannot serve two or many. We serve one Master, and we need hear only one voice.
Still, when others’ thoughts become our own, the Bible reminds us we can ask for God’s help to take our thoughts captive.
God is sovereign over all things, including our thoughts. Amos 4:13 says, “For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth — the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!” (emphasis added).
He can block out the noise in our hearts and heads. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” When we train our hearts on his voice, he can voice his right plans for us.
The world can be loud, but we serve one Master, with one voice.
Watch or listen as I walk through this article on my podcast Tired But Called now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcast.
