Thoughts on Motherhood
Proverbs 31:10-31
(This is the most beautiful passage in the Bible which shows the exalted place a godly woman has in the thoughts of God.)
Intro:
1. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed the 2nd Sunday in May as Mother's Day (Anna Jarvis' suggestion)
2. Since that time, the popularity and importance of Mother's Day has soared.
a. 20.8 million Americans will call their Mother today.
b. 125 million Mother's Day cards will be given (only 75 million to Father's on Father's Day)
People are fiercely loyal to their mothers. You have seen the scene a hundred times. It is so common place you probably never thought about the meaning behind it. It is an expression of something we assume so deeply that we expect it. It is something so basic to us it is almost instinct.
The scene is the Super Bowl, or the Hula Bowl, or the pro bowl, or the World series, final four.... It is near the end of the game. One of the two teams is ahead enough that the celebration has begun. The camera starts panning the sidelines of the winning team. And all the players are holding up a #1. Then one after another we hear them, or maybe we just read their lips. They are all saying, "Hi Mom!"
This tells us something. Think about it. Of all the people they could say hi to on national TV, why is it always Mom. Why not a wife, or children, or a father. Why not that high school coach who taught them the basic skills that are earning them millions. It is always Mom. People are fiercely loyal to their mothers. Even the physically strongest men in our society display their loyalty to their mothers for all to see.
People are so loyal to their mother's, because a mother's love is so great. Consider what mothers go through. First there is child birth. That is no picnic. Now that men are in the delivery room more and more we are beginning to respect what women go through. And once the child is born, most of the work of child rearing falls on the mothers. Often it is out of necessity. The father can earn more so he goes and earns while the mother stays at home. But studies show that even in two career families, force of habit places most of the burden on the mother. All that time and energy, for what? So that the child can leave.
A mother gives and gives and gives asking nothing in return. And no matter what happens they still love. A person can commit an unspeakable crime and everyone will abandon that person. But their mother won't. Consider Mary, Jesus' mother. When almost everybody else fled in terror, who was one of the few at the foot of the cross: Mary, the mother of Jesus.
3. Even though Mother's Day is in no way a religious holiday to be observed, the Bible does tell us to "Honor your father and mother" Ex 20:12 Mother's Day is appropriate way.
4. Today we want to give special recognition to our mothers as we consider some "thoughts on motherhood".
I. Thoughts From Various Sources
1. "Mother's Are.." by Floyd Wood - POEM
Blowers of noses and washers of ears,
Smoothers of bumped spots and wipers of tears,
Bathers of babies and umpires of spats,
Finders of boots and mittens and hats,
Helpers with lessons and makers of beds,
Shakers of dust cloths and combers of heads,
Button-sew-oners and winders of clocks
Menders of dresses and darmers of socks.
Tellers of stories and readers of books,
Judges and juries of conduct and looks,
Doctors of heartaches and hearers of prayers,
Generals directing all family affairs,
Tenders of home fires and builders of men,
(Oh, for the gift of an adequate pen!)
2. "A Mother's Work From A to Z, by Bob and Meredy Dockery
"A mother's work is never done..." It's true! A mother
has to wear so many different hats! At one time or
another she has to perform an amazing range of tasks...
A Mother is:
A - Artist - as she arranges and beautifies the home...
B - Beautician - as she clips, cuts & curls a little beauty's hair...
C - Chauffeur - as she delivers one child to his piano
lesson, picks up another after his ballgame and hurries home to prepare dinner...
D - Dietician - as she plans endless menus...
E - Engineer - as she keeps the wheels of the home well oiled and running efficiently...
F - Fashion Designer - as she alters hand-me-downs & creates originals...
G - General Practitioner - as she treats a variety of ills from scraped knees to broken hearts...
H - House Keeper - as she straightens and cleans and wipes up spills...
I - Information Bureau - as she answers thousands of youthful questions, ranging from "Do caterpillars yawn?", to "Where's my socks?"...
J - Judge - as she is called upon to settle the daily disputes that erupt wherever two or more children congregate...
K - Keeper at home - as she seeks to serve in the God-given roll. Titus 2:5...
L - Laundry Worker - as she battles the dreaded "ring around the collar"...
M - Musician - as she sings lullabies to coax droopy eyes to sleep...
N - Nurse - as she maintains a vigil beside frequent sickbeds...
O - Organizer - as she arranges birthday parties, shopping expenditures, ball games and work projects
P - Pharmacist - as she dispenses Band-Aids, children's aspirins and iodine...
Q - Queen of the home - as she serves as the center around which the home revolves...
R - Recreational Director - as she plans activities for school, scouts, church groups, and home...
S - Seamstress - as she patches, mends, darns and sews the inevitable holes, rips, and tears...
T - Teacher - as she instructs little minds in the first lessons of life...
U - Upholsterer - as she re-covers old furniture to try to make it last a little longer...
V - Vocational Counselor - as she offers advice about possible future occupations...
W - Waitress - as she graciously serves over 1000 meals a year...
X - X- Ray Technician - as she sees right through excuses, evasions, and cover ups, to get to the truth underneath...
Y - Yard Worker - as she plants, prunes and trims to keep things outside looking neat...
Z - Zoo Keeper - as she feeds the pets the children solemnly promised they would take care of...
3. Being a Mom isn't the world's easiest job.
a. more than 1/2 of mothers with children under 18 work
b. 7 out of 10 of these work full-time outside the home
c. Samuele Bacchiocchi, in "The Call to Motherhood", says that "the call to motherhood is being endangered today by many subversive forces"
(1) ungrateful husbands
(2) economic necessity
(3) professional satisfaction
II. Thoughts from the Bible on Motherhood
1. We all should appreciate the great privilege of motherhood
a. The Law of Moses taught to honor mothers, Ex 20:12, Lev 19:3 (you'd think this would come natural, but it has to be learned)
b. Her teaching was not to be abandoned, Prov 1:8
c. She is not to be despised, mocked or scorned. Prov 15:20, 17:25, 19:26, 23:22, 30:17
d. Motherhood is not merely a biological function, but also a sacred calling.
(1) no one can love a child like a mother (not a Father; baby-sitter)
(2) God compares His love for us with that of a mother (discipline compared to fathers) Isa 49:15
(3) Mothers can communicate self-worth in a way no one else can.
2. However valuable motherhood is, God intended motherhood to be experienced only in marriage Paper Article: Non-Traditional Families: (Times-Picayune 10 May 92)
* Traditional Family only 25% of the U.S. households, down from 40% in 1970
* # of children in single-parent homes has doubled to 25%
* Single adults head 25% of households.
a. more and more children are being born to unmarried women
(1) 14% of new mothers are single
(2) A mother of 3 said, "I'm not ready for marriage yet, but I love children and wanted to have them"
(3) a list of 10,000 are waiting to be mothers of test tube babies at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
b. sexual relation outside marriage is sinful, Heb 13:4
c. Matt 1:18,19 - example of where motherhood before marriage not acceptable.
3. Mothers are to love their children
a. Even though no one can love a child like his mother, some mothers need to be taught to love their children.
b. Titus 2:4 - "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children…. "
4. Mothers are to teach their children about the Lord
a. The first perceptions of right and wrong are taught by moms.
b. this is a grave responsibility, one that should not be delegated to a baby-sitter (money can buy groceries but it cannot buy character)
c. II Tim 3:14-15 "A Tribute To Young Mothers" Paul told Timothy, "But continue in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of who thou hast learned them; And that from a child ( Mama's & Grandma's influence) thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
d. Boy stopped at the zoo by a sign "Wildcats".. why are
they called wildcats? Because their mother and father were wildcats!
Conclusion:
1. Great blessings are in store for godly mothers
2. Today, we honor all our mothers.. but don't let it be for this day only
3. The greatest honor you can give is to live your life by the principles taught in the Bible.
4. There are some mothers here today praying that their children would obey the gospel.. recommit themselves to the Lord.
TO BE A GREAT MOTHER...
M - Marry the right man
O - Obey the gospel
T - Train your children to love God
H - Honor your parents
E - Enjoy Christianity
R - Request Wisdom from God.
This letter expresses what a mother gives to her child:
I give you my love, which means that I accept you, without reservations, just as you are and will be.
I give you my personal presence in order that you will have the security you need during your childhood.
I give you my ears, in the sense that I will never be too busy to listen to you – sometimes never uttering even one word.
I give you opportunities to work so that you might learn to do it without shame and come to enjoy the satisfaction of work well done.
I give you my counsel only when it is necessary or you ask for it so that you might avoid some of the mistakes I have made.
I give you my consolation when you have failed or feel discouraged, but I will not always protect you from the consequences of your sins.
I give you instructions in the way of the Lord so that when you are old, you will never depart from it.
I give you my daily prayers that the Lord will keep you and guide you in such a way that you, my child, will be a man or woman who will serve and glorify our Heavenly Father.
This I give you with all my love.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: How do you measure success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a redeemed social condition, or a job well done;
To know even one other life has breathed because you lived—
This is to have succeeded.
A POEM BY ROLAND SCROGGINS
My children are as tender plants, Which in my garden grow,
Who need the love and gentle care, Which I, myself, bestow;
I guard their fragile innocent lives, And pray that God above,
Will give me wisdom for the task, And help me grow in love.
For if I try to help them grow, To be what they can be,
And spend my time correcting them, And God is not in me;
I violate the purest gift, A life - for me to train,
And what God gave in trust to me, I've thrown away in vain.
In prayerful hope I gaze into, Their soft and gentle eyes,
I see myself reflected there, And then I realize;
A child can only see the world, a parent helps them see,
Oh God, Please God, help me live, So they see you through me.
May 1998