Skip to main content

Mother's Day

             Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (Proverbs 1:8)

 

            One of the things I hate is the tendency (we all have) to lecture when we should celebrate. I have attended Naturalization Courts, welcoming new citizens as they take their citizenship oaths. They have just completed proving they know what citizenship in the United States involves, and then they have to listen to judges tell them their duties as citizens. I suspect they know those duties at least as well as the judges.

            The same thing happens around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. They’re supposed to be days when we laud and honor our mothers and fathers, but instead, we offer tips about how to be a better parent or lecture about the responsibilities of the roles. There’s even a tradition of giving tools of the trade (vacuums, power tools, etc.) as gifts. That tradition gets the mockery and scorn it richly deserves.

            People also have a notion that traditional living – and Biblical living – involves the degradation of women, but even in the days of King Solomon (9th Century BC) at least some wise people acknowledged the value of mothers. Solomon advised at least one son to listen to his instruction (as the wisest man ever lived) and not forsake his mother’s teaching. This would suggest that it is wise to not forget one’s mother’s teaching.

            While we must grant that all others are imperfect, and some are actually horrible, most deserve more respect than we tend to give them. My mother died more than 25 years ago, and to tell the truth, I don’t remember much of what she taught me. What I mean is that I don’t remember her teaching me – or anyone else teaching me for the most part. But who I am today is due to her influence and teaching. And even where that teaching amounts to learning from her mistakes, I still benefit.

            So, on this day when we celebrate mothers, I applaud mine, and those who have been surrogate mothers. Whether or not they did as good a job as they wanted or as good a job as they thought, they have brought blessings to my life in ways neither they nor I may understand right now. And, my hat is off to all mothers – women who have suffered the inconveniences and fears of giving birth to and raising another person, who have succeeded and failed in myriad ways. I thank them for their courage, wisdom, hope, patience, and love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more