Honoring Mothers
Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church about children and parents and the need for children to obey their parents. Children were cautioned to honor their mother and father, that it may be well with them and they will live a long life. Honor relates to showing high respect or esteem and is also about knowing and doing what is morally right. Paul was cautioning the Church about the importance of honor and respect as the right thing for children to ascribe to parents. He warned fathers not to provoke their children to anger, but to bring them up in the ways of the Lord. I am not sure why Paul’s warning spoke specifically to fathers and could suggest that fathers may have been responsible for discipline. This could create the propensity for the abuse of power and in discipline being overly harsh.
Solomon shared warnings for children in Proverbs 4 and advised them to listen to the instructions from their fathers. He warned them to pay attention to understanding as fathers give sound doctrine and guidance. “When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother.” (Proverbs 4:3)
The guidance was to gain wisdom and understanding and it’s interesting how he drew attention to the tenderness of a child in the sight of their mother. Isaiah spoke about God remembering Zion and compared the compassion of a mother to the love of God. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15) Although in this reference, the context is that even some women forget, but God never forgets because His love is unfailing. The writer’s parallel points out how unlikely it is for a mother to not bond or forget about her child.
In Proverbs 31, Solomon spoke about the attributes of a virtuous woman in verses 10-31. As a precursor to those verses, he wrote about the words from King Lemuel’s mother. She gave advice to her son not to give his strength to women or to the things that destroys kings. She warned him against the lure of strong drink which could intoxicate and cause people to forget the law. Intoxication could lead to perverting justice and should be reserved for those who are bitter, perishing and needing to drink to forget that they are poor. She encouraged him to give special attention to those who did not have a voice, who were appointed to die. “Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9) Later in Proverbs 31, Solomon describe the attributes of a virtuous woman whose husband trusts in her as she cares for her household.
Solomon also described this virtuous woman and mother as being industrious and wise. Given the role that mothers play in supporting and nurturing children, it is God’s desire that we honor them and love them. We show honor through our time and resources, in ensuring that especially aging parents have their needs met. Although some relationships with parents may be strained, due to early childhood abuse or neglect, there are ways to honor parents, even if it is not always possible to have a close relationship with them . One way can be through the provision of different kinds of support where possible. “Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.” (Romans 13:7)
Questions for Reflection:
- What have you learned from the Bible about the importance of honoring mothers?
- Is it possible to honor mothers who have been absent or who haven’t been good examples for their children?
- What blessings does the Bible promise when we honor our parents?
