MOTHER’S DAY 2002
Prov. 31:10-31
INTRO.- ILL.- A drill sergeant was frustrated in his efforts to make a soldier out of a certain recruit. The trainee lagged behind on marches, used any excuse to go on sick call, grumbled constantly about the food, and never made his cot properly.
But one day, a noticeable change took place in the young man’s attitude. When asked to what he attributed the soldier’s change in attitude, the drill sergeant explained, "Threats and punishment didn’t work, so I had to resort to the ultimate weapon: I called his mother!"
We’re not here today to preach, but to praise! We’re here today to honor our mothers. Paul said in Romans 13:6 "to give honor to whom honor is due."
Honor is certainly due to most mothers. And most of this honor may well be overdue! Or past due!
ILL.- Many of you may be familiar with the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. On one Mother’s Day, Calvin is pictured standing by his mother’s bed. "Hey, Mom! Wake up. I made you a Mother’s Day card." "My, how sweet of you." she says. "I did it all by myself. Go ahead and read it."
She begins to read: "I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink and red. But then I thought I’d rather spend the money on me instead. It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small. So I guess you’re pretty lucky I got you anything at all. Happy Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it. Now I’m done. So how about getting out of bed and fixing breakfast for your son." Signed, "Calvin." Brothers and sisters, I would not suggest honoring any mother in that way!
ILL.- Did you hear about the three sons who left home, went out on their own and prospered? Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, "I built a big house for our mother." The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver." The third smiled and said, "I’ve got you both beat. You remember how mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well. I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and parrot recites it."
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks: "Milton", she wrote, "The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house." "Gerald", she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!" "Dearest Donald", she wrote to her third son, "You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious!"
A lovely chicken dinner on Mother’s Day might be nice, but not a parrot dinner.
ILL.- Eight-year-old Mary wrote her mother a note for Mother’s Day. "Dear Mother, here is the box of candy I bought you for Mother’s Day. IT IS VERY GOOD CANDY. I KNOW, BECAUSE I ALREADY AT 3 PIECES."
ILL.- A school teacher gave her class of second-graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day the teacher asked her students this question: "My name has six letters. The first one is ‘m.’ I pick up things. What am I?"
When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was surprised to find that almost 50% of the students answered the question with the word "mother."
YES, MOTHERS DO PICK UP THINGS. Yes, they do pick up after their children and often, after their husbands. But mothers are more than just "magnets," picking up after everyone in the house. They are many things.
PROP.- From Proverbs 31 I want to mention some things that mothers are or mothers do in order to honor them today.
1- Her hands work
2- Her mouth speaks
3- Her heart loves
I. HER HANDS WORK
ILL.- There is a cartoon that shows a mother in her home. Her hair is in disarray, kids are everywhere, and the house is an absolute shambles. Then her husband comes home from work all neatly dressed in coat and tie, carrying his briefcase.
She takes one look at him and He looks at her with a big question mark on his face. She tells him, "You come home every evening and ask what I do all day. Well, today I didn’t do it and here it is!"
ILL.- One mother wrote this poem;
"Some may climb Mt Everest, in search of thrills galore,
But I scale peaks that rival it, just past the laundry door:
Slopes of socks and underwear, sheer cliffs of shirts and pants.
Oh, yes, I live in mortal fear of a laundry avalanche"
ILL.- A boy got his first job. As he was boasting about the amount of work he did, he said, "I get up at 5 a.m. and have my breakfast." He was asked, "Does anyone else get up too?" He replied, "Oh yes, mother gets up and fixes my breakfast and then fixes dad’s breakfast."
"And what about your dinner?" The boy said, "Oh, mother, fixes that too."
"Does your mother have the afternoon to herself?" The boy replied, "No, mama cleans the house, looks after the other children, and then gets supper for me and dad when we come home. Then we watch TV before we go to bed."
"What about your mother? What does she do?" The boy replied, "Mama washes some clothes and irons the rest of the evening."
"Do you get paid?" "Of course, Dad and I get paid." "And what about your mother, does she get paid too?"
The boy replied, "MOTHER, GET PAID?! MOTHER DON’T GET PAID. SHE DON’T DO NO WORK."
If anyone here today believes that moms don’t work, I would suggest that you keep your mouth shut.
In this text, we see that mothers do all kinds of work.
- She sews v. 13, 19, 22 "She selects wool...and works with eager hands."
- She shops v. 14 "bringing her food from afar."
- She cooks v. 15 "She provides food for her family..."
- She gardens v. 16 "She plants a vineyard..."
Our text also says that mothers v. 15 "get up while it is still dark" to prepare food. And v. 18 "her lamp does not go out at night."
WHAT’S THAT OLD SAYING" "Man works from sun to sun, but woman’s work is never done."
v. 27 "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread idleness." She isn’t lazy.
ILL.- MAMA’S MAMA
Mama’s mama, on a winter’s day,
Milked the cows, and fed them hay.
Slopped the hogs, saddled the mule,
And got the children off to school.
Did a washing, mopped the floors,
Washed the windows and did some chores.
Cooked a dish of home-dried fruit,
Pressed her husband’s Sunday suit.
Swept the parlor, made the bed,
Baked a dozen loaves of bread.
Split some firewood, and lugged it in,
Enough to fill the kitchen bin.
Cleaned the lamps and put in oil,
Stewed some apples she thought might spoil.
Churned the butter, baked a cake,
Then exclaimed, "For mercy’s sake
"The calves have got out of the pen!"
Went out and chased them in again.
Gathered the eggs and locked the stables,
Returned to the house and set the table.
Cooked a supper that was delicious,
And afterwards washed all the dishes.
Fed the cat, sprinkled the clothes,
Mended a basket full of hose.
Then opened the organ and began to play,
"When you come to the end of a perfect day."
God bless you, mothers, for all your hard work over the years!
II. HER MOUTH SPEAKS
v. 26 "She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
ILL.- Preacher G. Campbell Morgan had four sons and they all became ministers of the gospel. At a family reunion, a friend asked one of the sons, "Which Morgan is the greatest preacher?"
While that son looked at his father, he replied, "MOTHER."
Mother was the greatest preacher. Many mothers have done a lot of preaching to their children, whether they considered it preaching or not.
ILL.- When Preacher John Wesley was a student at Oxford University, he was shocked by the amount of drinking done by the students. (Wonder what he would think about college students today?)
After writing to his mother, Susanna Wesley, for her counsel, he received the following words: "My dear son: remember that anything which increases the authority of the body over the mind is an evil thing."
Great instruction! And I’m sure that Susanna Wesley said a lot of other good words of wisdom to her children.
ILL.- Mama always said.... What did Mama always say? For most of us, mama said a lot and generally, it was for our own good. Here are what someone called "Great Sayings of Biblical Mothers."
- Samson’s mother said, "Get your hand out of that lion. You don’t know where it’s been!"
- David’s mother said, "I told you not to play in the house with that sling! Go practice your harp. We pay good money for those lessons!"
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s mother said, "Leave those clothes outside, you smell like a dirty ol’ furnace!"
- Noah’s mother said, "No, you can’t keep them! I told you, don’t bring home any more strays!"
- Judas’ mother said, "Have you been in my purse again?!"
What did your mama always say that was good?
ILL.- Ron Doerge of Lake Egypt, IL, said these words of his mother: "My mother is Ruth Doerge of Chester. She is 93 years old and mentally sharp as she has ever been. If we had classes in schools on ‘How to be a parent,’ I would nominate my mother to teach the class.
"She has always been there for my sister and me, in both thick and thin. She doesn’t hesitate to advise us, and her thoughts are always on target. Rarely do I find myself not agreeing with her suggestions, BUT ALWAYS HOLD HER WORDS OF WISDOM IN HIGH REGARD..."
ILL.- Another lady from Carbondale, IL, said of her 90 year old mother, "After I married, she continued to help with whatever need I had, from sewing beautiful holiday outfits, to cooking and occasional house cleaning and baby-sitting. SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY COUNSELOR AND FRIEND. This lovely lady just celebrated her 90th birthday. I admire her so much and am proud she is my mother."
V. 26 "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
1- Her hands work
2- Her mouth speaks
III. HER HEART LOVES
ILL. Jerry Clower was a comedian whose size would make you think he was a professional football player. He once said that his son was the field goal kicker for his high school football team. One day his son had a chance to kick the goal that would give his team the lead and maybe even win the game, but the kick went wide of the goal.
A man about four rows from where Jerry Clower was sitting jumped up and began heckling loudly. "Who is that kicker anyway? He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a football." And he went on and on, ridiculing Clower’s son.
Clower said, "I took all of it I could and then I made my way through the crowd, sat down next to that guy, looked him right in the eye, and said, ‘You need to thank Jesus that you’re still alive."
The guy said, "What do you mean?" Clower answered, "That’s my son you’re ridiculing and the only reason you’re not dead right now is because I’m a Christian and Jesus won’t let me kill you."
Brothers and sisters, I think Jerry Clower’s heart was a heart of love, like the heart of most mothers. The heart of a mother is loving and is quick to defend her children.
V. 11-12 "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
If a husband has full or complete confidence in his wife, then you know that she is a woman who loves her man.
ILL.- An epitaph on his wife’s tombstone written by her husband after 60 years of marriage, read, "SHE ALWAYS MADE HOME HAPPY."
ILL.- A grandmother was telling her granddaughter goodnight when the little girl said, "Mommy and daddy are entertaining some very important people downstairs."
"You’re right," grandma agreed, "BUT HOW DID YOU KNOW?"
"JUST LISTEN," the little granddaughter said, "MOMMY IS LAUGHING AT ALL OF DADDY’S JOKES."
Brethren, where there is a lot of laughter in a home, you just know that something good is happening in that home! AND, OF COURSE, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE LAUGHTER IN THE HOME.
Prov. 17:22 "A cheerful heart is good medicine..."
When there is a lot of laughter in a home, someone is putting out some good medicine. AND IT ALSO SHOWS A LOT OF LOVE.
ILL.- A teacher at school put this question to little James in math class, "James, suppose your mother made a cherry pie, and there were ten of you at the table: your mother and father and eight children. How much of the pie would you get?" "A ninth," was his answer. "No, no, James. Now pay attention. There are ten of you in the home. Don’t you know your fractions?"
"Yes, maam," he replied, "I know my fractions, but I know my mother even better, AND SHE’D SAY THAT SHE DIDN’T WANT ANY PIE."
The unselfishness of a mother shows a heart of love for her family. And all of us can remember many unselfish acts of devotion our mamas made to our homes.
1- Her hands work
2- Her mouth speaks
3- Her heart loves.
CONCLUSION------------------------------------------
"I will not have a temper tantrum nor stomp across the floor-
I will not pout, scream or shout or kick against the door-
I will not throw my food around or pick upon another-
I’ll always try to be real good because I am the Mother…"
-author unknown
God bless you dear mothers!
