"WHAT MOTHERS DESERVE"
INTRODUCTION
- Mother's Day, a national holiday in the USA...
- On the second Sunday in May
- Honoring mothers
- Frequently celebrated by...
- Flowers, cards, presents, given to mothers
- People attending church with their mothers
[How did this holiday come about? More importantly, what do our mothers
deserve from us, not just on Mother's Day, but every day? First, a
little history...]
- HISTORY OF MOTHER'S DAY
- IT'S ORIGIN...
- In 1907, Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia started the campaign to
honor mothers, two years after her own mother died
- In 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognize
Mother's Day
- A year later, nearly every state officially marked the day
- In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed
Mother's Day a national holiday for the second Sunday of May
-- J. L. Wilson, Fresh Sermons
- IT'S COMMERCIALIZATION...
- Anna Jarvis' accomplishment soon became a bitter disappointment
- She became enraged by its commercialization
- She filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day celebration in 1923
- She was arrested for disturbing the peace at a war mother's
convention where white carnations (her symbol for mothers) were
being sold to raise money
- Her complaint: "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not
profit!"
-- ibid.
[Today, many mothers are happy to receive flowers, cards, gifts, etc.
But mothers certainly deserve more than that, especially from a biblical
perspective...]
- WHAT MOTHERS DESERVE
- OBEDIENCE...
- "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this right." - Ep
6:1; cf. Col 3:20
- As Solomon counseled his son: "...do not forsake the law of
your mother" - Pr 1:8
- Even Jesus obeyed His mother as He was growing up - Lk 2:51
- Of course, this pertains mostly during the period of child
raising
-- Do we give our mothers the OBEDIENCE they deserve?
- RESPECT...
- "Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment
with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live
long on the earth." - Ep 6:2; cf. Exo 20:12
- Solomon warned of grave consequences for those who cursed their
parents - Pr 20:20
- A Chinese proverb says, "Respect for one's parents is the
highest duty of civil life"
- Common decency demands that we respect our parents, especially
mothers
-- Do we give our mothers the RESPECT they deserve?
- AFFECTION...
- Elisha demonstrated the affection properly due parents - 1Ki
19:20
- And why not, when they gave us so much affection as children?
- Such affection can be given in words ("I love you, Mom!"),
hugs, gifts, etc.
-- Do we give our mothers the AFFECTION they deserve?
- WISDOM...
- "...a foolish son is the grief of his mother." - Pr 10:1; cf.
Pr 17:25
- Jesus increased in wisdom as He grew from childhood to
adulthood - Lk 2:52
- Mothers worry enough for their children, we should not give
them unnecessary grief
- Much wisdom can come from the advice mothers themselves give us
-- Do we give our mothers the WISDOM they deserve?
- RIGHTEOUSNESS...
- The righteous bring joy and gladness to their parents - Pr
23:24-25
- More important than any other achievement, is that of a
righteous character
- Nothing makes a mother prouder than to have a good (righteous)
son or daughter
- Today, true righteousness comes through faithfully following
Jesus - cf. Ro 3:21-22
-- Do we give our mothers the RIGHTEOUSNESS they deserve?
- CARE...
- Parents, especially widowed mothers, deserve our care - 1Ti
5:4,8,16; cf. Jm 1:27
- Indeed, children are to be their parents' "social security"
- They deserve the best care we can afford to give them
- Some may require professional and medical care, but we should
not simply drop them off at nursing homes just for our
convenience
-- Do we give our mothers the CARE they deserve?
CONCLUSION
- We may choose to give our mothers flowers, cards, gifts on Mother's
Day...
- But every day they rightly deserve our...
- Obedience
- Respect
- Affection
- Wisdom
- Righteousness
- Care
Are we practicing true piety and pure religion by giving our mothers
what they deserve...?