"Honor Your Mother"

Every year the second Sunday in May the USA honors our Mothers with “Mother’s Day”. That is a very good and proper thing to do. After all the Bible tells us, “a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” {Proverbs 31: 30} and “Honor your father and mother.” {Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:2} Therefore, we praise and honor our godly women. Doing all that on Mother’s day is fine, but what about the rest of the year?

How do we honor and praise our mothers through out the year? In thinking about that, I tried to look at the question from a mother’s point of view. Since I am not a woman or a mother, it was quite difficult. However, these thoughts came to me. What emotions do we elicit in her throughout the year? Do our actions and attitudes help her feel appreciated and honored?

The Bible gives us some thoughts along those lines. “... a foolish son is a grief to his mother.” “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.” “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.” {Proverbs 10:1b; 17:25; 29:15 NASB} Notice that these samples are largely negative. When we disobey, disregard, and argue with our mothers, we tear them down when we should be building them up. When we behave foolishly, we bring them grief and shame.

Obviously, none of that honors, praises, or elicits positive emotions in our mothers. I am sure we can all do better. So what should we do? I talked with one mother who told me that when her children acted respectfully she felt appreciated and good. Giving truthful praise, little acts like opening doors for her, big acts like doing things you should before she has to tell you (like chores and homework) encourage mothers.

I want to tell you about two families to illustrate this. Both families are Christians. I visited one family and they would come to dinner and then ask, “What slop do we have for supper tonight?” I found out that happened often. In second family, the children cleaned up when called, came to the table, acted politely, and thanked mom for the food. It is easy to figure out which mother was experiencing positive emotions and encouraged to continue doing her best as a mother.

One Mother’s Day I talked with the teen Sunday School Class about honoring, respecting, and appreciating our Mothers throughout the year. It took awhile but they came with a few ways like: obeying and being polite. There probably will be days when like our teens, you do not succeed, but if each of us keeps working at it we will be more like the second family than the first one.

Personally, I am very grateful for my godly mother. I do not know words strong enough to praise or thank her. Unfortunately, looking back there were times I made her task more difficult than I should have. As I matured, I worked harder at being a son who elicited positive emotions and encouraged her. This year I hope to do better and I hope the same for each of you.

So, look for ways to show your Mother honor, respect, and appreciation.

Written by Rev. Daniel B. Baker May 200y45



Articles by Rev. Daniel B. Baker :: Webmaster: Joseph I. Baker