| Most Recently Posted Ask a Question | |||||||
| Q: | Our son's Godmother has taken the wrong path, and will soon be excommunicated, as she refuses to change her ways. We have chosen to cut off communication to her because of her destructive behaviour, as it would be bad for our son to experience this. She has asked to remain his Godmother, but we feel that a Godmother should be someone who demonstrates a Godpleasing life and willingness to worship Him. Is it appropriate to replace her, or do we just chalk it up to a bad decision on our part, and continue with the relationship with his Godfather and rely on that? What procedure would we go through to replace her? | ||||||
| A: | It strikes me that you are already doing the really important thing--giving testimony to the woman that her impenitence is unacceptable and striving to see that her altered spiritual standards do not adversely affect your son. Those are the things that matter. I don't necessarily see a need to "replace" a Godparent in a formal way, though this certainly can be done. You may act in a less formal way. Parents often, over the years, cultivate and encourage a variety of relationships between other adults and their children, and this can be done here even if the formal title "Godparent" is not used. Children often have lots of "uncles" and "aunts" that are honorary and useful ones. Take your choice. Please continue to rejoice that the Godfather appears to be still qualified and willing to serve faithfully. And please do NOT continue to say that you made a "bad decision" in selecting the Godmother. Don't manufacture guilt for yourselves based on the impenitence of others. If, sadly, the woman remains impenitent and out of the fellowship of believers, talking about this at a future time with your son may serve good purposes. We all need to be alert to the dangers that surround us. The temptations to fall away spiritually are real. Thankfully, so is the magnificent grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! | ||||||
| |||||||