How To Treat Your Mother

The first said, "I built a big house for our mother." The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver." The third smiled and said, "I’ve got you both beat. You remember how mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well. I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and parrot recites it."

Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks: "Milton", she wrote, "The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house." "Gerald", she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!" "Dearest Donald", she wrote to her third son, "You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious!"

Here’s another biblical thought about how to treat mothers:

3. WE ARE TO LISTEN TO THE WISDOM OF OUR MOTHERS.

Twice in Proverbs, Solomon instructs us not to forsake our mother’s teaching. (Proverbs 1:8; 6:20) He says "a foolish man despises his mother." (Proverbs 15:20)

The scripture is teaching us to listen to what our mothers have to say.

Are mothers always right? No, not always, but they usually have our best interest in mind.

Can you say that about the advice you get from your investment broker? Do you honestly believe he is primarily interested in your welfare? My guess is, his primary motivation is his commission.

Your boss may give you advice at work - probably to make you more productive for the company.

But a mother gives her input because she loves you and DOES have your best interest in mind.

We should at least take her motivation into consideration. We would probably save ourselves a lot of headaches and heartaches if we paid closer attention to what she has to say. We at least owe her the respect of listening.

There are other biblical guidelines for treating mothers. We only had time for a few.

I want to close the sermon by reminding you of an incident from the life of Jesus that underscores how spiritual mothering is important to the family of God.

Matthew 12:46-49 (NIV)

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Are you a part of this family? If not, you can be! Once you believe in Jesus and receive eternal life you are automatically made a member of this family Jesus was talking about!

If you’re already in the family of God, commit yourself to treating the other members of the family, including your spiriutal mothers, in the ways the Bible instructs you.