A TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS
INTRO.- ILL.- A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud. The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was covered with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, etc.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered and asked, ’What happened here today?’ She again smiled and answered, ’You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?’ ’Yes,’ was his incredulous reply.
She answered, ’Well, today I didn’t do it.’
Abraham Lincoln wrote: “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
Lincoln’s mother must have had a great influence on his life and perhaps, more than his father did. Mothers of the past did have a greater influence perhaps than modern mothers because they were home all the time. They never worked outside the home.
I feel for mothers today because I think that many of them would prefer to stay home and do their motherly things. The pressure of society of wanting to have more and do more forces most mothers to have a full-time job outside the home. Sad but true. Perhaps if we all lived on less we would have more. We might have less material things but we would have more spiritual values and strength. And also, have more influence on our children.
Today, we want to honor our mothers. Of course, honoring our mothers should be an on-going thing, not just one time a year.
PROP.- Three different scriptures and thoughts that give tribute to mothers from whom we can learn.
I. A MOTHER NEVER CEASES BEING MOTHERLY
Romans 16:13 “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.”
The apostle Paul said that the mother of his friend, Rufus, had been a mother to him as well. No doubt she had concern for Paul like his own mother would have had and she might have cooked for him or did some other things for him like any mother would do.
Did you ever have a childhood friend who stayed at your home more than they did their own home? And if so, did your mother “mother them” just like she did you? Or maybe it was you who stayed at your good friend’s house and his or her mother became a second mother to you?
Once a mother, always a mother. When a mother ceases to have children at home, she is still a mother and does motherly things. Even if it’s a matter of mothering other children.
Did you ever have a second mother? That is, did you ever have a woman in your life whom you considered to be a second mother to you?
ILL.- Elizabeth Edwards (wife of John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina) left behind not only her three children, but a grieving former nanny who says Edwards was like a mom to her, too.
"I lived with them for a lot of years every single day," Heather North, a nanny for the Edwards family for five years. "She’s my second mother. She helped shape the person that I am. We love her dearly. She is an amazing woman." WHAT A NICE TRIBUTE TO ELIZABETH EDWARDS WHO PASSED FROM CANCER!
ILL.- My Second Mother By Scarlet D., Cleburne, TX: “Teachers are like second parents. Between junior high and high school I have had thirty-six different teachers. Of those, none have made a bigger difference in my life than Mrs. Lisa Benson.
“Mrs. Benson teaches Accounting at Cleburne High School. Since the first day I met her (my freshman year) she has helped mold my future. As a freshman, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. The first day of class, Mrs. Benson discussed what accounting was and how it elates to the real world. The enthusiastic tone in her voice and extensive knowledge of the profession made me become interested in an accounting career. Every question I asked was answered with complete honesty and no sugar coating.
“At that moment, I knew I wanted to be an accountant. The way Mrs. Benson taught also helped me chose the occupation. And she also never gave up on students who didn’t understand. Mrs. Benson would always hear the student out and try to think of a way to word the lesson that would click in their brains. She constantly listened to our thoughts and opinions and made sure we felt like grownups.
“I found myself, and still find myself, often asking her for advice, her opinions, and personal life questions. She slowly became a woman whom I looked up to and admired. I felt like I could come to her for anything and really trusted her with my life.”
Wow! Again, what a nice tribute to a lady who became a second mother to, no doubt, many of her students.
Thank God for mothers who never stop loving, never stop giving, never stop caring, and never stop mothering even when it’s not their own child or their own children!
II. A MOTHER TEACHES A CHILD OBEDIENCE
Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
If children are to obey their parents that includes mama! In fact, sometimes mothers are more the disciplinarians than the fathers simply because they may spend more time with the children.
I was raised by a “stay-at-home” mother so I know that my mother did more of the disciplining than dad. Mother didn’t wait for daddy to come home. Mother didn’t use a razor strap or a belt like my dad but I do remember a bar of soap that she used on me. WHAT DID YOUR MOTHER USE ON YOU?
I’ve heard people say, “My mother made me go cut my own switch!” WHAT DID YOUR MOTHER USE ON YOU?
ILL.- A preacher friend who is 79 years old wrote: “Mom was left with four children when my dad died. We were 15, 10, 8, and 2. She didn’t have it easy with us. Her main discipline was a strap which could sting, although it did us a"lot" of good. I learned to cry right away. Our crying seemed to make her stop.She often made us to go to our room for "time out," too.
“If we didn’t eat something she thought was good for us, we went without dessert. Usually I ate it, even though it made me gag a little. I wanted that dessert. I still like desserts with every meal!” HOW FUNNY!
ILL.- The mother of a problem child was advised by a psychiatrist, "You are far too upset and worried about your son. I suggest you take tranquilizers regularly." On her next visit the psychiatrist asked, "Have the tranquilizers calmed you down?" "Yes," the boy’s mother answered. "And how is your son now?" the psychiatrist asked. "Who cares?" the mother replied.
That’s not the answer to raising a problem child. I’m sure there might some mothers who would like solution, however, or at least on certain days.
ILL.- Erma Bombeck wrote: “When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they’re finished, I climb out.”
- Someone wrote: “I love to play hide and seek with my kid, but some days my goal is to find a hiding place where he can’t find me until after high school.”
A mother teaches her children to obey because she has learned the lesson of obedience: obedience to her parents and to God.
Proverbs 10:1 “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.”
Proverbs 13:24 “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.”
Proverbs 22:15 “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.”
Proverbs 29:15 “A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.”
ILL.- Someone said these insightful words to mothers: “Children are going to grow up so they need to be taught to obey authority figures. They’re going to have a hard time following rules, have a hard time obeying their boss, the laws of the land and their government if you don’t teach them. And then they’ll be saying, the world is against them and wondering why everyone in society wants them to obey rules and their elders. Then you’ll realize as a parent you failed to instill those rules and laws into your child when they were little. You let them believe them were equal or better than everyone, including their bosses and the government. You let them believe they didn’t need to obey anyone. Mutual respect is not going to work with their boss. They will have to work and obey and it will be hard on them because their mothers never taught them how to obey.”
Thank God for mothers who cared enough, who loved enough to discipline their children in order to make them behave and teach them to respect authority in life.
III. A MOTHER LIVES A LIFE OF FAITH
2 Timothy 1:5 “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
Timothy’s faith came at least in part from his mother and grandmother. Thank God for a mother’s faith!
Abraham Lincoln said: “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”
Proverbs 1:8 “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”
ILL.- When Robert Ingersoll, the notorious skeptic, was in his heyday, two college students went to hear him lecture. As they walked down the street after the lecture, one said to the other, “Well, I guess he knocked the props out from under Christianity, didn’t he?” The other said, “No, I don’t think he did. Ingersoll did not explain my mother’s life, and until he can explain my mother’s life I will stand by my mother’s God.”
ILL.- Four ministers were discussing the merits of the various translations of the Bible. One liked the King James Version best because of its simple, beautiful English. Another liked the American Standard Version best because it is more literal and comes nearer to the original Hebrew and Greek. The third like the more modern New International translation best. The fourth minister was silent. When asked to express his opinion, he replied, “I like my mother’s translation best.” The other three expressed surprise. They wondered what he was driving at. “Yes,” he replied, “Mother translated the Bible into everyday life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw.”
She was just an old-fashioned mother,
She did not pretend to be “smart.”
To care for her home and her dear ones
Was the wish that was first in her heart.
We were raised by the old-fashioned rules,
so sparsely employed today.
And when we so richly deserved it,
We were spanked in the old-fashioned way.
“A good name is far better,” she’d say
“Than all of the wealth of the nation,
And truth is best any day.”
She believed in the old-fashioned Bible,
She trusted in old-fashioned prayer;
She told us that Jesus would hear us
If we’d speak any time, anywhere.
Thank God for an old-fashioned mother,
For the Bible and old-fashioned prayer;
For the old-fashioned faith that is looking
For our Lord to appear in the air.
CONCLUSION-----------------------
Someone wrote: Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.
God bless you, mothers, with His blessing and the blessing of your family!
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
