THE HAND THAT RULES THE WORLD
1997 by Mark Beaird
Proverbs 31:25-31
ƒÞ Paul Harvey, in his Rest of the Story series, had this to say about the importance of mothers. ¡§Fellows...can you be too close to your mother? From Freud to the present, the analyzers of the human mind have considered one relationship to be most important: the male with the mother figure. When this relationship goes too far, some say, it becomes a Mother Complex.
All right. Here they are. Meet the mama’s boys...
Of James, it was said, there was never a more devoted son. His relationship with his mother was close...lasted a lifetime. What impressed James the most was his mother’s unfailing confidence in him, the kind of blind confidence that only a mother can express...and mean it. Even on his deathbed, James’s agony could only be overcome...by writing his mother.
Ted...was eternally seven. Throughout his entire life, his friends warned those about to meet him that Ted was only seven years old. Why? Well, Ted was a mama’s boy. Letters to his mother began, "Darling Beloved Little Motherling." She had a compulsion for cleanliness, and so did he. Back and forth. Ted and his mother...were one and the same.
Now for Bill. Bill’s mother put it this way: "I find that Willie needs constant watching and correcting. It requires great caution and firmness, but I do not believe we can love our children too much." You can imagine how Bill turned out.
Woody was another unashamed mama’s boy, physically and emotionally clinging to his mother virtually into adulthood. There was only warmth between the two, and Woody often recalled that he came to love the best in womanhood through those apron strings.
Frank wouldn’t dare go to school without his mother. And the school...was Harvard University. Frank’s mother had an extraordinary drive for perfection, and she focused it all on Frank. For six full decades she tried to organize her son’s life in minute detail...and Frank loved every minute of it.
Harry’s mother mothered Harry quite a bit. She sat up with him countless times when he needed her. Is it any wonder that Harry returned the favor continually throughout his life? Harry’s mother lived to be 94 and, right up to the last, there was Harry...conducting business matters from his mother’s bedside. You see, Harry was a mama’s boy too.
And what about David? When David was a big boy in the Army, he never stopped writing his mother. In fact, he once swiped a Top Secret directive to order a Mother’s Day Card.
All through David’s life, he subconsciously imitated mama. Her laugh. Her expressions. The simplest smile.
But, then again, John imitated his mother too. They were all mama’s boys. In times of crisis, it was always mother who came to mind.
So, fellows...can you be too close to your mother?
Well, if you can’t, you might turn out like James Garfield. Or Teddy Roosevelt. Or William Howard Taft. Or Woodrow Wilson. Or Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Or Harry S. Truman. Or Dwight D. Eisenhower. Or John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Even Lyndon Johnson’s most cherished school paper was entitled: "I’d Rather Be Mama’s Boy."
They were not afraid of their filial affection...and they each became President of the United States.
And if the psychologists who suspect the Mother Complex sense a reversal in the trends of greatness, well...have you ever heard of Lillian Carter?
Her little boy is the rest of the story.¡¨ (Harvey, 8-9)
There is perhaps no greater illustration of the old saying that the "hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" than the previous story. And perhaps there is no greater testimonial for the life of a mother than for her children to "rise up and call her blessed." Of all the opportunities given to a mother, none can be greater than that of the opportunity to mold and influence the life of a child. Today, it is more important than ever for mothers to recognize these opportunities.
Look with me at three opportunities of which mothers need to be aware.
I. MOTHERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOLD
PERSONALITIES.
A. Scientists say we are born with 50% of personality intact. Some things are
nature.
B. God has given the other 50% to moms. Some things are nurture.
II. MOTHERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOLD
BEHAVIOR.
A. Compassion, love, giving, purity, self-sacrifice are all taught--these do not
come naturally.
She must instill these qualities in her children because she can never control who they may find themselves around.
ƒÞ A mother was concerned about her only son going off to college. She wrote the following letter to the college president:
"Dear Sir: My son has been accepted for admission to your college and soon he will be leaving me. I am writing to ask that you give your personal attention to the selection of his roommate. I want to be sure that his roommate is not the kind of person who uses foul language, or tells off-color jokes, smokes, drinks, or chases after girls. I hope you will understand why I am appealing to you directly. You see, this is the first time my son will be away from home, except for his three years in the Marine Corps." (Hewett, 376-77)
B. Bitterness, resentment, hatred, spitefulness, cruelty are all taught as well.
ƒÞ John Maxwell reminds us of how closely children watch our lives as he tells the story of a little girl who went shopping with her mother. As they left the department store, her mother was complaining about the crowds, the prices and the service. "And did you see that dirty look the salesman gave me as we were leaving?" she asked her daughter. "Mom," the little girl replied, "He didn’t give you that dirty look. You had it when you went in."
III. MOTHERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOLD SOULS.
A. Mothers should capitalize on a child’s natural curiosity about God.
What kind of books, videos, and music tapes does your child listen to? As good as Barney and Sesame Street are, your child should not know more about Barney and Cookie Monster than he or she does about Jesus.
B. Children need to be taught how to turn to God with their needs and souls.
ƒÞ In the little book Children’s Letters to God, a little girl named Nora writes, "Dear God, I don’t ever feel alone since I found out about You."
What if Nora had never found out about God?
CONCLUSION
ƒÞ John Killinger’s book Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise includes the following affirmation: I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary. I believe in the love Mary gave her Son, that caused her to follow him in his ministry and stand by his cross as he died.
I believe in the love of all mothers, and its importance in the lives of the children they bear. It is stronger than steel, softer than down, and more resilient than a green sapling on the hillside. It closes wounds, melts disappointments, and enables the weakest child to stand tall and straight in the fields of adversity.
I believe that this love, even at its best, is only a shadow of all that we can expect of him, both in this life and the next. And I believe that one of the most beautiful sights in the world is a mother who lets this greater loveflow through her to her child, blessing the world with the tenderness of her touch and the tears of her joy. (Larson, 160)
The entire world is filled with the influence of mothers! My question to mothers today is, "Do you want your influence to be felt in the life of your child? Do you want to leave a legacy of godliness that can be passed on to future generations?"
I challenge you today to ask for God’s help, through the power of Holy Spirit, to take advantage of the opportunities that you have to influence the lives of your children.
References
Harvey, Paul Jr. (Lynne Harvey Ed.). (1977). Paul Harvey’s the rest of the story. New York, NY: Batam Books.
Hewett, James S. (Ed.). (1988). Illustrations unlimited. Wheaton, ILL: Tyndale House.
Larson, Craig B. (Ed.). (1993). Illustrations for preaching and teaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
