What was 108 years ago? It was the first official day that mothers were celebrated in our country. Anna Jarvis is credited with making this special day happen. However, as is most often the case, the bible has been celebrating mothers since the time of Eve, the mother of all living. This week I have had several opportunities to think about my own mother. She spent three days in two different hospitals. My sister and I were with her and our childhood came up several times as we talked with each other about our mama. I thought about her mom, my grandmother. More often than we men like to admit, the women in the family seem to be the glue that holds us all together. Don’t’ think so? Let me give you some purely anecdotal evidence. When my grandkids plan to come see us, most of the time they tell people “I’m going to my Mimi’s house.” Papa is a tag along. It was that way when I was a child. “I’m going to my grandma’s this weekend.” Most often the mothers are the ones that carry the impact of teaching, developing character, and offering compassion to a child looking for direction. Fathers are important in this endeavor also (I’ll write about them next month). But especially early, it is the moms that do most of the heavy lifting in shaping the behaviors, the temperaments, and the nurturing of their children. As I thought about various passages concerning moms, Titus 2:3-5 gives explicit instruction for the mothers old and young. Let me hit the highlights.
- Older moms should be patterns to follow. V. 3 simply says, “the aged (older) women likewise, that they be in behavior (how they act) as becometh…” It goes on to say this behavior is to be holy, truth tellers, not given to drinking, and always trying to teach good things. The things that are noble and right should always be on their lips. Why are they told to do this? The younger wives and mothers need a pattern to follow if they are to have a powerful testimony.
- Young moms are to be learning some things. V. 4. They are to be sober, clear headed, and clear thinking. The Amplified says the young moms are to “be sane…disciplined.” Next, they are to love their husbands and kids. The husband/father isn’t an afterthought. He is to be loved just as the children are to be loved. There has never been nor will there ever be a better system for rearing children than the biblical family structure of a husband, wife, and children. I realize that isn’t always going to happen, but it is the pattern for Christians to aspire to. V.5 continues with the behavior of the young moms: they should be discreet (self-controlled), chaste, keepers at home (home is the priority), and good (idea of good-natured, making the home a place of great joy). This next one sends the world into orbit. They are to be obedient to their husbands, that the bible be not blasphemed. Testimonies are enhanced or denigrated depending on how obedient we are to the bible. We all have authorities to whom we must submit. In the home, husbands are to be the head of the home. That certainly doesn’t mean they are dictators, but they biblically are the head. Before you men get cocky about this, remember that the greater the position of responsibility, the greater the judgment you are going to face. When you are the head you have an obligation to do right by everyone under your roof. If you think submission means no power, perhaps it would do us all good to read about the submission of Jesus in Philippians 2.
This weekend, let’s celebrate our moms. If your mother has already passed, find a family member and share a story from your childhood. Adopt a mother whose children might be in a different state and she won’t see them this year. A quote I heard years ago that is wrong theologically, but was spoken to commend mothers says this, “God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” Motherhood should be celebrated not denigrated. There has never been a greater calling than that of motherhood. I’ll lift that banner high as long as I live.