Mamma Told Me Series

OPEN: Steve Pollard said his mother was very influential in his life… he said:

My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that will come of the carpet."

My mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that’s why."

My mother taught me CONTORTIONISM: "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me STAMINA: "You’ll sit there until ALL that spinach is gone."

A woman columnist for the Los Angeles Times wrote about the influence her mother had on her. She said her mamma taught her several rules for being a perfect lady:

1. Mind your manners and always write "thank you" notes.

2. Brush your hair.

3. Appearance matters.

4. Never marry a man in order to change him.

5. Stand up straight and clean your fingernails.

6. Eat everything on your plate and remember the starving children in the world.

7. Speak up.

8. If you ask for something, you may get it.

9. If you don’t ask, you may not get it.

10. Keep your mouth shut and your legs crossed.

11. Don’t ever do anything you wouldn’t want me to do.

APPLY: Mothers have an powerful influence on their children and it is reflected in the amount of attention Mothers get that Fathers don’t. Did you realize that

Ø there are more cards sent on Mother’s Day than on Father’s Day

Ø There are more phone calls made on Mother’s Day to moms than there are on Father’s Day to dads (granted, ½ of those are made collect… but there are still more calls made to Mothers on Mothers day than there are to Fathers on Father’s Day)

One man complained about this discrepancy, noting that he literally poured himself into son’s life. He taught him play baseball, football, basketball, took him hunting, fishing, taught him how to drive. And then, when the boy went off to college and played ball for the college team… the Network TV cameras focused on his son and guess what he said: “Hi Mom!”

I. Moms have a powerful influence on the lives of their children.

The Bible tells several stories about women, that give us deep insights into what moms are capable and willing to do for their children.

For example… Rebekah (the mother of Jacob) manipulated her husband to make sure Jacob rec’d the blessing instead of his brother Esau.

Moses’ mother - Jochebed (to avoid having him killed by Pharaoh’s death squads) hid her baby as long as she could at… then she placed him in an ark and placed it in the bulrushes near where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed… and finally, she arranged to become her son’s teacher and guardian even when he was taken into Pharaoh’s court

Then, there’s the story of 2 women who argued over a child in front of Kg Solomon. One mother said the child was hers, the other insisted it was hers. When Solomon ordered that the baby be cut in two - and half given to each women. The false mother was delighted… but the real mother was willing to surrender her child rather than have him killed.

And then, in the New Testament, the mother of James & John approached Jesus attempting to influence him to have her two sons occupy the chief seats in the kingdom of God.

Again and again, in Scripture, mothers are shown as driven to protect and promote their children

These mothers want their children to do MORE than just survive.

They want their children to succeed!

In fact, women have often been the driving force in the success of their sons and daughters.

I believe that this is because God has placed within women the powerful desire to protect and promote their children and make them do well in life.

Mothers have often sacrificed just about everything to make sure that their children succeed in…

· school

· sports

· in the finding of a good career

· or in making sure they marry the right kind of person when they grow up.

Mothers are often THE individuals to mold and shape their children’s character and future.

Paul recognized this when he told Timothy that he had “…been reminded of (his) sincere faith, which first lived in (his) grandmother Lois and in (his) mother Eunice…." (2 Timothy 1:5)

In other words, Timothy was the kind of man that he was because of the kind of mother and grandmother that he’d been blessed with. Their faith and love for God shaped Timothy into being a powerful worker for God.

II. What this tells me is that women have an amazing potential to affect the lives of their children and grandchildren.

This is an awesome responsibility. And it is a responsibility that a mother or grandmother should not take lightly.