WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A MOTHER TODAY?
TITUS 2:1-5
In Tyler, Texas, there is a tombstone which says, “Mahalita, the wife of R. Adkins, she was the sunshine of our home.” 1.
Mothers, isn’t that the way you want to be remembered? You were the sunshine of your home.
Billy Graham’s mother said concerning mother’ day, that she didn’t want to be congratulated. But she wanted it to be a day of soul-searching in her life that she might gain a new awareness of the role that God had given her.
You say how can I accomplish been the role of a mother as God would have me to be? I believe in the Scriptures that I just read we see the role of a godly mother.
We see in the background of the Scriptures that Paul was writing to Titus to encourage him in Crete. It was a hard place (Titus 1:12) and some of that spirit had spilled over into the Church.
In Titus 1:5, Paul said “set in order” which is a medical term that means to set in joint. It is what a Doctor does with a broken bone, he set it back in place so it can heal and be useful again. Paul was saying to Titus, he had do this in the Church.
A part of what Paul told Titus to was to give instructions to the Christian home. He talks about specific responsibilities in the home. He talks about older men (v-2), older women (v-4), young women (V-4), young men (v-6) and slaves (v-9).
Paul seems to be saying Crete will not be right until, the Church is right, and the Church will not be right until the home is right.
Notice some of the things, Paul says are the mother’s responsibilities and the ways she can be the sunshine of her home.
I read the story of husband who said there were two wooden figures on their wall at home. On the wooden figure of the man there is a sign that reads: "If daddy ain’t happy, who cares." On the wooden figure of the woman there is a sign that reads: "If mamma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!" I am glad that is not the only kind of influence that a woman has in the home.
I-A MOTHER SHOULD BE CHRISTLIKE IN HER BEHAVIOR: V-3A
It means that they should live a life consistent with the fact that they claim to be followers of Christ. In others words, their walk should match their talk.
Paul earlier in 1:16 had refereed to some who were false.
My mother was and is an inspiration to my brother and me. She told us to go to Church and she took us. She told us not to drink and she didn’t. She told us not to cuss and she didn’t. She told us to be good and
Kind and she was. She told us to pray and she did. She taught us by her example.
Mothers are to be Christ-like in the home because it is there where we are watched the most and where we can prove our faith.
A well-known professional golfer was playing in a tournament with President Gerald Ford, fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. After the round was over, one of the other pros on the tour asked, "Hey, what was it like playing with the President and Billy Graham?" The pro said with disgust, "I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!" With that he headed for the practice tee. His friend followed, and after the golfer had pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, he asked, "Was Billy a little rough on you out there?" The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, "No, he didn’t even mention religion."
Sproul commented, "Astonishingly, Billy Graham had said nothing about God, Jesus, or religion, yet the pro stomped away after the game accusing Billy of trying to ram religion down his throat." What had happened? Simply this: The evangelist had so reflected Christlikeness that his presence made the pro feel uncomfortable.
II-A MOTHER SHOULD BE CAREFUL WITH HER TONGUE: V-B
The word “false accuser”means “a slanderer.” In others places in the Bible, it is translated, “devil’.
The devil is a slanderer. He slanders the name of God, the Church of God, and the people of God.
So Paul was saying to them, be careful with your tongue, don’t be like the devil.
A woman who had the reputation of been a slanderer asked her preacher one day, I am puzzled, how am I going to get my robe over my wings? He said, I am too, for how are you going to get your hat over your horns?
Billy Sunday Said, God save us from women who angels in the Church and devils in the home.
A mother cannot be the sunshine in her home and not be in control of her tongue.
Two boys on the school playground were discussing a classmate. One of them remarked, "He’s no good at sports." The other quickly responded, "Yes, but he always plays fair." The critical one added, "He isn’t very smart in school either." His friend answered, "That may be true, but he studies hard." The boy with the mean tongue was becoming exasperated with the attitude of the other. "Well," he sneered, "did you ever notice how ragged his clothes are?" The other boy kindly replied, "Yes, but did you ever notice, they’re always clean!" Every negative observation was countered by a positive one.
What an excellent example for us to follow! Let’s refrain from "evil speaking" and be "kind to one another" (Eph. 4:31,32). Rather than contributing to the spirit of criticism, let’s be known as those who cancel it.
C-A MOTHER SHOULD BE CONSECRATED IN HER DRINK: V-3C
The Sunday school teacher was dismayed when she saw the picture that one of her pupils had drawn. "Why, it looks like a cowboy walking into a bar!" she said with concern. "It is," said the child. "But it’s all right. He’s not going to DRINK anything. He’s just going in to SHOOT a man!"
Paul is saying don’t be a slave to alcohol. A mother should be a total abstainer. It does have it place in some ways such as in medicines, and etc.
The Bible says the best way is stay away from it, and as the writer of Proverbs tells, don’t even look upon it.
When I was stationed at Loring Air Force Base in Maine, I got lost in a snowstorm. I could hardly see where I was going. All at once, right in front of me was a huge fence with a sign, which said, “Danger-High Voltage”. It was a sign warning me of the electric power station.
The Bible recognized the dangers of alcohol, and warns us against of its addicting power.
Alcoholism is the third leading medical problem in the United States. Each year over 40,000 people die on the highways of America because of Alcohol. Alcohol is a factor in over half of the murders, one-fourth the suicides and a majority of the divorces in the Untied Stated each year.
Some reports says there are the same number of women as men who have problems with alcohol.
"Preacher, talk to my boy about drinking," said an anxious father. "He came home last night and fell sprawling on the floor, too drunk to get up. His mother cried the rest of the night; in fact, she has been crying ever since." "Why don’t you yourself talk to your own boy and urge him to give up drink?" the preacher questioned. "Preacher, I can’t talk to my son about it because I am to blame. I wanted him to be a man, and I thought it wouldn’t harm him to drink. When I gave him his first glass of liquor, I didn’t dream that he’d ever become a drunkard. Please speak to my boy. I can’t talk to him."
The best way to deal with alcohol is to like former President Wilson used to do when alcohol was served at his table. He always placed his glass upside down. In others words, he was saying no to alcohol.
IV-A MOTHER SHOULD BE A COMMUNICATOR OF GOOD THINGS: V-4-5
Of course mothers are teach them how to cook, how to wash, how to keep house and such.
I heard about the new bride who called her mother and asked her how to boil water?
The word “good” here means good in a moral sense. They should be taught the things of God.
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO BE SOBER: V-4A
The word here really means wise, sensible, to use good judgement.
A mother should teach her children to be use good judgement in their dealing with money, their job, their friends, and especially with their friends.
Sam Jones said, you can’t run with the dogs without getting fleas on you.
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO LOVE THEIR HUSBANDS: V-4B
Love is the key in the home. It is the cement that holds the home together.
It is not a soap opera love like we see on TV. I was visiting a lady one-day, and she said, add Dr. Bob to your prayer list. I asked her who Dr. Bob was? She said, Oh preacher, he the Doctor on “As the world turns”
Soap opera is not real, it is make believe, but the love Paul is talking about is true love.
There is a custom in an area of the Netherlands where newlywed couples enter their house through a special door. The door is never used again until one dies and the body is carried out through that same door. God designed marriage like that house. It has one door that is locked tightly. That lock, which keeps the marriage bond secure, is loving commitment for life, which includes a commitment to being reconciled if the relationship should break.
I saw a sign in front of a house that read, “WANTED A WIFE-APPLICATION TAKEN HERE”. I don’t if is was a joke, or the poor fellow couldn’t find a wife. If so he wanted someone to love him, to care for him in marriage
A minister wished to meet after the service with a couple he was going to marry. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember their names, so he announced from the pulpit: "Will those wishing to be united in holy matrimony please come forward after the service." Following the service, thirteen old spinsters came to the front!
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO LOVE THEIR CHILDREN: V-4C
If we really love them, we would treat our children as blessings, not burdens. Let’s be honest, things don’t always go the way we would like them to go at home, do they? Sometimes it is pretty difficult.
The story is told of a little boy sitting on his front steps with his face cradled in his hands, looking so forlorn. His dad came home just then & asked him what was wrong. The little boy looked up & said, "Well, just between us, Dad, I’m having trouble getting along with your wife, too!"
A teacher put this question to little John in the arithmetic class. "John, suppose your mother made a peach pie and there were 10 of you at the table . . . your mother and father and eight children . . . how much of the pie would you get?" "A ninth, Ma’am," was the prompt answer. "No John. Now pay attention," said the teacher. "There are 10 of you. Ten remember. Don’t you know your fractions?" "Yes Ma’am," was the swift replay of little John, "I know my fractions, but I know my mother, too. She’d say that she didn’t want any pie." Mothers, you unselfishness makes an impression on the little ones.
But also when a mother loves her children, it involves disciple. She does it because she loves them, and wants the best for them.
James Dobson tells about a little boy & his mother who went to the auto shop to have their car repaired. Already inside the waiting room was another woman whose car was also being repaired, as this mother came in with little Mark, about 5 years old.
Mark quickly spied the pop machine & told his mom he wanted a "drink." She told him "No." But he evidently thought that her "No" was not final, & if he persisted, he would get his "drink.’ So he started demanding a "drink." He finally came over & hit her on the knee, saying she didn’t love him because she wouldn’t buy him a "drink."
When that didn’t work, he threw himself down on the floor & started kicking & pounding & crying that he wanted a "drink." After this went on for a while, the other woman finally reached over & tapped the mother on the shoulder & said, "Please, please, discipline your child. He will thank you someday if you will only learn to discipline him."
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to tap someone on the shoulder & say, "Please discipline your child." It is not being abusive to discipline your child if you discipline in love.
"Rufus Jones often told a story from his childhood: It seems that one day when he was 12 or 13, his mother went to town, leaving him behind on the farm with some chores. He fully intended to do the work, but his friends’ beckonings to play grew too loud. "When he saw his mother’s car pull into the driveway that evening, his heart sank. He knew he was in for one of the worst whippings of his life. His mother parked the car and came into the house. She looked him straight in the eye. She didn’t have to ask. "Rufus said he would always remember what happened next. It affected him as no whipping ever could. His mother took him upstairs into the bedroom, knelt down beside him, wrapped him in her arms, and, with tears streaming down her face, prayed one phrase over and over: `Lord, make a man out of him. Lord, make a man out of him.’ "It is said that whenever Jones told that story his voice would grow quiet, his eyes misty, as he remembered that special feeling of `standing in the weeping arms of love.’"
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO BE DISCREET AND CHASTE: V-5A
The Bible teaching on sexual purity is clear. It is chastity before marriage and faithfulness in marriage
If we really love them, we would provide our children with spiritual guidance & leadership in their lives. The Bible tells us, "Train up a child in the way he should go, & when he is old he will not depart from it."
But do you realize that by age 18 our children will have watched 17,000 hours of television? If you watch 17,000 hours of anything in the first 18 years of your life, that’s going to be a big factor in the way you think & how you evaluate things. They have watched it, & soaked it in, & it has become very much a permanent part of their lives.
Maury Povich’s subject a while back was "Three men who posed nude for Playgirl magazine." They were asked, "What are your greatest sexual fantasies?" The audience, all females, cheered & applauded as they described them.
Programs like that are on in the afternoon, when kids are arriving home from school. They see that kind of garbage day in & day out, & we need to sit them down & say, "We live in a dangerous world, filled with immorality, filled with things that are anti-God & the things that God wants to do in your life. God wants the best for you. But if you follow the way of the world, that will not be the best for you."
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO BE KEEPERS AT HOME: V-5B
Many mothers have to work in our society. Some say over 50%, other over 85%?
Thus many mothers can’t be keepers at home all the time but for the rest of the time, they should be at home with their children.
Be at home at night to tuck your children in bed, to say their prayers with them, to help them with their homework, to eat with them. More important than attending civic and social function, take time to be with them.
A woman once wrote Gipsy Smith after an evangelistic campaign to tell him she had been converted as a result of one of his messages. She said, "I believe the Lord wants me to preach the Gospel, Brother Smith, but the trouble is that I have 12 children to raise! What shall I do?" She received this letter in reply: "My dear lady, I am happy to hear that you have been saved and feel called to preach, but I am even more delighted to know that God has already provided you with a congregation of 12! The new convert got the point!
Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley spent one hour each day praying for her 17 children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters. No wonder two of her sons, Charles and John, were used of God to bring blessing to all of England and much of America.
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO BE GOOD OR KIND V-5C
Just remember that you may be sorry for a lot of things. You may be sorry, you lost your temper, you may be sorry for some words that you said, you may be sorry for the way you treated someone, but you will never be sorry for being kind.
One way we build friendships is by those deeds which poet William Wordsworth called "Those little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love." One such act was performed for a man in a small village who had suffered the loss of his young son. After the funeral he visited the local undertaker and said, "I’ve come to square my account."
"You don’t owe me a penny. You’ve paid your bill on the nail," the undertaker replied. "But, I’ve had no bill for the funeral of my son."
The old undertaker answered, "If you had to bear the sorrow, surely I can bear the expense." –Moody
Somerset Maughan tells of his mother. She was lovely and charming and beloved by all. His father was not by any means handsome, and had few social and surface gifts and graces. Someone once said to his mother, "When everyone is in love with you, and when you could have anyone you liked, how can you remain faithful to that ugly little man you married?" She answered simply: "He never hurts my feelings." There could be no finer tribute.
SHE SHOULD TEACH THEM TO OBEDIENT TO THEIR HUSBANDS: V-5D
It means to respect, to love, to obey your mate
It was testimony night in the church. A lady got up and said, "We are living in a wicked land where sin is on every hand. I have had a terrible fight with the old devil all week." Where upon her husband, who was sitting glumly by her side said, "It’s not all my fault either; she’s tough to get along with."
Someone has said, man does not live by bread alone, but he needs buttering every now and then.
Conclusion: Every home needs the sunshine that only a godly mother can bring to it. Mothers, will you be the sunshine of your home. If you will, in due time, you will receive your reward.
After one of the battles of the Civil War, a chaplain came to see a man who was dying. He took the young soldier’s hand and said, "Brother, what can I do for you?"
The boy replied, "I want you to kneel down and return thanks for me." This is an unusual request from someone who is dying.
"Thanks for what?" asked the chaplain.
And the soldier said, "Thank him for my mother. Thank him that because of her I am a Christian. What would I do now if I were not a Christian?
1.(Sermon Idea-Brother Paul W. Powell)
