Keeping Mom Happy

May 11, 2003 Colossians 2:6-12

“Making mom happy”

INTRODUCTION

Today is Mother’s Day. We want to honor our mothers as Scripture commands, and we want to do our best to make them happy…for at least one day. The Lord knows that there have been enough days that we have made them cry. There is a slightly selfish reason that we have for wanting to make them happy. We all know that if momma ain’t happy, ain’t noboby else happy either! So we do the only things that we know to do. First, we get them a card. Most of you mothers would probably agree that the best kind of card is one of the homemade variety. If any of you kids did that, hopefully, yours didn’t go like this: "I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink & red. But then I thought I’d rather spend the money on me instead. It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small. So I guess you’re pretty lucky I got you anything at all. Happy Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it. Now I’m done. So how about getting out of bed & fixing breakfast for your son."

If the card doesn’t work at making mom happy, we buy them a gift. That responsibility usually falls to dad. Although the only person a man usually shops for is his mother or his wife, the whole experience is a stressful one. Many a man has felt extreme frigid temperatures for a long period based on a poor present decision. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way, so let me give you some advice just in case you haven’t made your purchase yet.

1. Don’t buy anything that plugs in.

2. Don’t buy clothing that involves sizes. The chances are one in 7000 that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999 times. "Do I look like a size 16?" she’ll say. Too small a size doesn’t cut it either: "I haven’t worn a size 8 in 20 years!"

3. Avoid all things useful.

4. Don’t buy anything that involves weight loss or self-improvement. She’ll perceive a six-month membership to a diet center as a suggestion that’s she’s overweight.

5. Don’t buy jewelry. The jewelry your wife wants, you can’t afford. And the jewelry you can afford, she doesn’t want.

6. Don’t buy her any frilly underwear. Remember; this day is for her, not for you.

7. Finally, don’t spend too much. "How do you think we’re going to afford that?" she’ll ask. But don’t spend too little. She won’t say anything, but she’ll think, "Is that all I’m worth?" - SOURCE: Herb Forst in Cross River, NY, Patent Trader, in Reader’s Digest, Page 69.

If the gift that you have purchased fits into any of these categories, you might want to hide them under the bed and make a quick trip to Walmart or the mall sometime this afternoon.

As nice as sweet cards and meaningful gifts are, they have one shortfall – their ability to make mom happy is short-lived. Almost as soon as the gifts are presented, sister and brother go back to fighting, and dad goes back to living in his world of isolation.

This morning, I would like to suggest 7 ways that you can keep mom happy over the long-term because she will feel like she has accomplished something of real worth in the lives of her children. The means that I am going to give you this morning come both from words in the Bible and from words that moms have spoken to their children for generation after generation. I’ve learned that if you want to make momma happy, don’t listen to all the advertisers. You have to listen to momma. Listen to all the things that she has constantly told you over the years.

TRAN: One of the things that many a mother has said to their children particularly as the children are heading out the door is, “Remember who you are and where you came from.” Some even put it in more graphic terms: “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it.” So I know that one of the ways that…

You can keep mom happy is by…

1. …keeping your roots. “rooted in Him”

Paul spoke of the need for these Christians to keep their roots grounded in Christ. The roots of a Christian like the roots of a plant serve two functions. One, they provide nourishment for the rest of the plant. They go down deep to provide water, nitrogen and other minerals for the plant. Without roots, the plant would die. In John 15, Jesus compared Himself to a Vine and us to the branches that grow from that vine. He said that we are totally dependent on Him for the nourishment that we need to survive and thrive in a hostile world. As long as we are attached to Him, we will produce good fruit even in a dry environment. But the moment that we start to think that we can make it on our own and remove ourselves from His control, then we will lose all power to accomplish anything of real worth. Roots do more than provide nourishment. They provide stability. They prevent the plant and the Christian from being washed away when the storms of life come along, and they prevent the Christian from being moved from his faith when false doctrine is being taught.