Honor Thy Mother

Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:23-24

Being a mother is a very important role that the Lord chooses to give to many women. A Christian mother is told to love her children. Titus 2:4-5 “Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” God commands this so that she does not bring reproach on the Lord and Savior whose name she bears. Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127:3-5 “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”

A Mothers Love:

In Titus 2:4, the Greek word philoteknos appears in reference to mothers loving their children. The word represents a special kind of “mother love.” The word means one of caring for our children, nurturing them, affectionately embracing them, meeting their needs, and tenderly befriending each as a gift from God. We are to honor and love our mothers Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

How Should a Christian Mother Be?:

Several things are commanded of Christian mothers in God’s Word:

1. Availability – morning, noon, and night: Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

2. Involvement – along with the fathers, interacting, discussing, thinking, and processing life together: Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

3. Teaching – the Scriptures and a biblical worldview: Psalm 78:5-6 “He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”

Deuteronomy 4:10 “Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

4. Training – helping a child to develop skills and discover their strengths: Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” and spiritual gifts: Read Romans 12:3-8

5. Discipline – teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consistently, lovingly, firmly: Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

6. Nurture – providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection, unconditional love: Titus 2:4 “Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children,” 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

7. Modeling with Integrity – living what you say, being a model from which a child can learn by “catching” the essence of godly living: Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

The Bible never states that every woman should be a mother, it does say that those whom the Lord blesses to be mothers should take the responsibility seriously. Mothers have a unique and crucial role in the lives of their children. Motherhood is not a chore or unpleasant task. Just as a mother bears a child during pregnancy, and just as a mother feeds and cares for a child during infancy, so mothers also play an ongoing role in the lives of their children, whether they are adolescents, teenagers, young adults, or even adults with children of their own. While the role of motherhood must change and develop, the love, care, nurture, and encouragement a mother gives should never cease. Isn't this a good reason to love and honor our mothers? Remember, God commands it.