“Forget the Village; Just Give Me a Godly Mother”
II Timothy 1:3-5
OPENING JOKE: “150 a Week to Talk about Mom” Three ladies were exercising pride in their grown sons. The first lady told of the extravagant birthday parties her son provided her. “Why he even hired a full band for my last birthday.” The second lady bragged about how her son gave such lavish vacations. “Just last month he sent me to Hawaii for the fourth time.” The third woman was not to be outdone and she piped up, “That’s nothing. My son has been paying a psychiatrist $150 a week for the last three years just so he can talk about me.”
INTRODUCTION: Happy Mother’s Day! Welcome to all of the mothers and grandmothers on this, your special day!
It has been said, “It takes a village to raise a child”…But this is not true
The truth is, it takes godly parents to raise a child
• Today, more than ever in history, people other than parents are raising their children
• Because of the cost of living and the amount of low paying jobs it has become almost impossible for a family to survive without both parents being at work full time
• Because of this, most parents are forced to start their children in daycare almost from birth
The result is that the village (or society) is raising the children, rather than parents
Someone might say, “Well what is the harm in that?”
The danger is what our children are being taught by the village:
They are being taught
a. Relativism in morality
i. This basically means that your version of ‘right’ is fine for you, but it shouldn’t effect my version of what’s ‘right’ for me
ii. They say things like, “There is no truth”, or “Truth is relative to what you believe”
iii. The motto from the sixties is still going strong, “If it feels good, do it!”
iv. Illustration: “High School Drug Use” When I was working at First Coast I caught many young people with drugs. I also dealt with many children who were totally disrespectful and cursed out their teachers and classmates almost daily.
1. I would ask, “Do you know that what you are doing is wrong?”
2. They would say, “It may be wrong for you, but it is right for me!”
v. This is really the most dangerous problem facing our next generation of kids today
vi. The idea that there is no absolute ‘right and wrong’
b. Humanism in Education
i. Humanism teaches that man is not special and is not made in the image of God.
ii. We simply a complex form of matter
iii. God doesn’t exist, and if anything, we are gods
iv. And this is being taught even at very young ages
1. In grade school kids are taught that they are nothing but glorified apes
2. And then we wonder why they act like it!
v. Illustration: “MOSH” At every science museum you go to you will see the picture of the evolutionary chart. Man ascending from ape-man, ape-man ascending from smaller apelike man. And so on…
1. As a child I never thought to even question this
2. Then I began as a young adult studying God’s Word and creation and I learned most of what is said about our origins is theory, not fact
3. And these theories do not align with God’s Word
4. And God’s Word assures me that I am not just a gloried monkey, but a person CREATED in the IMAGE OF GOD!
vi. But this is not what’s being taught in the ‘village’
c. Heathenism by society
i. Quote: You need not go very far to see outright sinful behavior oozing out of the cracks of our society today
ii. Sexual sin, perversion, abortion, greed and lust are way more common than proper behavior, manners, ethics or morality
iii. Our society glorifies sin
1. If you don’t believe me just watch television
2. In times past television shows were forbidden to show husband and wife characters sleeping in the same bed
3. Now almost full nudity is not uncommon in afternoon television when kids spend most of their time watching
iv. We live in a society like Jeremiah spoke of in his book – a society that “does not know how to blush”
So, with these things in mind, is it really best that the ‘village’ raise the children? No
Of course Daycare centers are going to be necessary, and the cost of living is not going down anytime soon
But this does not take away from the responsibility of parental influence, involvement and correction in the life of their children
What is needed is godly mothers and fathers who will stand and say, “This is right, that is not – and not because I believe it, but because the Bible says it!”
“And I will teach my children to walk in the way of the Lord”
***In our text today, we see two examples of godly mothers: Lois and Eunice, the mother and grandmother of Timothy
Let me give you a little background: Timothy was a young minister of the Gospel, a student of the Apostle Paul as well as his close friend and co-laborer.
• He served with Paul on some of his missionary journeys, was Paul’s representative to churches and he also served as the pastor of the church Ephesus
• In his second letter to Timothy, Paul gives insight into the root of Timothy’s faith saying that it first “dwelt in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice”
• This is an important note within the text, because it gives insight into the role of a godly mother in shaping her child to do what is right – and an encouraged by Timothy’s response to their teachings
Notice some things about Timothy’s mother and grandmother:
I. Timothy was taught as a child to seek God
a. II Timothy 3:15b “…from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures…”
i. This verse indicates that he had received a religious education as a child
ii. But this education didn’t come from a priest, a Pharisee or a pastor, but from Lois and Eunice
iii. Quote: He had been taught the OT Scriptures as a boy and when the Apostles Paul related the Gospel of Christ to him and his mother and grandmother, their hearts were fertile soil to receive the truth
b. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard ‘Christian’ parents say:
i. “Well I am not going to push my beliefs off on my child, when they are old enough, they will make their choice on their own”
ii. These are usually the same parents who choose what sports their children play, what activities they participate in and which college they should attend
iii. But belief in Jesus as Savior, the most important decision a person can make, is left up to chance!!!
c. Godly parents will begin teaching their children about the things of God from a young age
i. The Scripture says to ‘train a child’
ii. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it”
iii. The word ‘train’ doesn’t just mean ‘teach’
1. You can teach your child something, and someone teach them something else
2. This word indicates ‘to prepare for a contest’
3. “Have you ever wondered why so many parents tie up their dog, but let their children run loose?” —Anonymous
d. Satan is in a contest for the souls of people
i. He knows what is in store for him and wants as many as possible to share his fate
ii. He influences society to influence people, and young people are the most influential of all
iii. Parents have to prepare their children for that influence
iv. Statistic: Most statistics show that a child’s behavior is formed in early adolescence and world views concerning morality and ethics and religion are formed in the early teenage years
e. What really needs to happen is that children be taught to ‘discriminate’
i. You say, “Oh, Brother Foskey, you couldn’t possibly want me to teach my child discrimination, could you?”
ii. Listen to me, it is wrong to discriminate against someone because of what they look like or where they are from – that is the truth – and parents who teach their kids to do that are performing a grave injustice
iii. But to teach our children to discriminate between what is sin and what is not, what is right and what is wrong is the duty of a godly parent
f. And the only way for the parent to know is for they themselves to have a vibrant, personal relationship with God
Transitional Statement:
“Not only was Timothy taught as a child to seek God, but also…”
II. Timothy saw God’s Influence in His Mother’s and Grandmother’s life
a. II Timothy 1:5 “…I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice…”
b. It is obvious that Paul knew these women and had seen their faith in action
i. It could have been that he and Barnabas led them to faith during his first missionary journey in Acts 13
ii. Quote: They had understood the Scriptures well enough to see that Paul was a true man from God and trusted in the Gospel that resulted in a life that shown forth in faithfulness
c. Godly parents cannot just ‘train’ their children in the way they should go – they must lead the way
i. Quote: Sadly today we see full church buses, but empty church parking lots
ii. Parents send their kids off to church, while they stay at home
iii. Parents should be leading the way to church
iv. Quote: Maybe the verse could read: “Train up a child in the way he should go . . . and go there yourself once in a while.” —Anonymous
d. Let me ask you a few questions:
i. Do your children see God’s influence in you?
ii. Do they see His love, His discipline, His grace, His mercy?
iii. Are you an example of godliness to your children?
1. You may say, “Brother Keith, nobody is perfect!”
2. I am not saying you never make mistakes
3. Quote: But do you cut your child a trail to follow in life that will lead them to the knowledge of Jesus as Savior?
e. Illustration: “Mommy’s Clothes” Have you ever seen a little girl go rummaging through her mother’s clothes and makeup and put it all on so that she can be like mom?
i. She is simply following mom’s example
ii. This, above all, is the time mom needs to be a good example to this little girl
iii. An example of the Lord Jesus Christ
f. Lois and Eunice were examples of Christian living to Timothy, which above societal influences, showed him how to live a godly life
i. You see, I am sure Timothy had other influences in his life
ii. As a young boy he probably had friends or at least acquaintances whose parents were not Christians
iii. I am sure Satan tempted him to follow after carnal desires, sins of the flesh and improper behavior
iv. But Timothy always had his mother and grandmother at home as a guide
g. Do your children and grandchildren see you as a godly guide in their lives?
i. Someone who is steadfast in your faith
ii. Someone that when the temptations of this world come calling, they can look to you as an example of godliness?
h. You will never shield your children from all that life will throw at them, but you can be a light in the darkness that leads them through by being an example of God for them
CONCLUSION: The title today is ‘Forget the village, just give me a godly mother’
And the point is the village of our society is not fit to be raising children – they need godly parents and grandparents who will step out in faith and declare ‘Thus Says the Lord’
Illustration: “Dr. Spock Changes His Mind” Dr. Benjamin Spock penned Baby and Child Care in 1946. It was used in some forty million homes by parents who wanted to raise their children “right.” Spock has changed his philosophy since writing those words fifty years ago. At age ninety-two, Spock said, “I used to think that all you had to do was be a decent person, and you didn’t need to harp on morality or spirituality as my mother did with her six children. Now I believe you’ve got to.” Spock mourns the condition of today’s society and commented, “I think that there’s been a real shift away from thinking of life as contributions by a person, or contributions to a family or contributions of a family to the rest of society to ‘What’s in it for me?’”
The man who ‘wrote the book’ on parenting has, in his old age, matured greatly in his understanding of God’s way of parenting
God never intended that children be allowed to go blindly into life without any knowledge of Him, but that godly parents would guide their children into that knowledge
If you are a parent or grandparent I admonish you, spend time with your children and tell them about God and His love for them
Illustration: ‘No other country” Dr. Nicholi, a psychiatrist from Harvard, noted current studies reveal American parents spend less time with their children than do parents in almost any other country. Nothing can replace the precious commodity of time spent with your children.
Quote: “Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” —C. Everett Koop
Illustration: “Mommy, What is a Christian?” A cartoon pictured a little girl asking her mother a very important question: “Mommy, what is a Christian?” The mother thought for a moment and then replied, “A Christian is a person who loves and obeys God, loves their friends, neighbors, and even their enemies. They are kind and gentle and pray a lot. They look forward to going to heaven and think that knowing God is better than anything on this earth. That is a Christian!”
The little girl took a couple of moments to contemplate what her mother had said, and then asked, “mommy, have I ever seen a Christian?”
Parenting involves modeling Christ-like behaviors, disciplines, and attitudes for our children because they need far more than a Christian’s description, they need an example of one.
If you have a godly mother, you should thank God for her – if you are a mother or grandmother, you should be doing your best to be an example to those little ones who look up to you
Thank God for giving us mothers –
(Let us pray)
