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More Than Flowers and Cards
“MORE THAN FLOWERS AND CARDS”
Today is Mother’s Day, a day set aside by our country to remember our mothers. This holiday had its origin in 1907 when Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia started a campaign to honor mothers. Her mother had died two years previously, and Anna wanted to honor her memory. In 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mother’s Day as a holiday. In 1911, nearly every state officially marked the day. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed the second Sunday of May a national holiday, Mother’s Day. Within a few years, commercialization took over the holiday, and this upset Anna Jarvis so much that she actually filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother’s Day celebration in 1923. Today, Mother’s Day is a big business. Cards, flowers, presents, and dinners are all given to mothers. Churches have special programs to honor mothers and to get people in the doors of their buildings. All kinds of Mother’s Day sales are going on throughout the land.
Shouldn’t mothers deserve more than just a special one day a year celebration? Shouldn’t they deserve more than flowers and cards? There is nothing wrong with cards and flowers and a one-day celebration, but there are ways that we can truly honor our mothers everyday of their lives.
The following scriptures describe what mothers should receive each and every day:
MOTHERS DESERVE:
OBEDIENCE: “Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.” (Ephesians 6:1) “My son do not forsake the law of your mother.”(Proverbs 1:8) Disobedient children cause their parents problems and heartbreak. An obedient child is a joy and a delight to his mother. Even Jesus was subject to his parents, (Luke 2:51) and his mother kept all those things in her heart.
RESPECT: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) “Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.”(Proverbs 20:20) Many today have no respect for their parents and cause grief and shame for their parents. Mothers, who have tenderly cared for their children and raised them through the years, deserve our respect.
AFFECTION: “And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” (I Kings 19:20) Elisha requested to kiss his mother and his father before he left to follow Elijah. When was the last time that you hugged or kissed your mother? When was the last time you told your mother that you loved her? Have you ever thanked her for raising you?
WISDOM: “But the foolish son is the grief of his mother.” (Proverbs 10:1) Many today are so wrapped up in themselves that they do not realize the grief and the shame they bring to their mothers by their foolish actions. We care only for ourselves and do not think of the consequences it brings upon others. Stop and remember how your mother’s wisdom saved you from making a terrible decision.
RIGHTEOUSNESS: “Let your father and mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.” (Proverbs 23:25) Nothing makes a mother happier that seeing her children do well. What a great joy it is for a mother to know that she has raised children who have become Christians.
CARE: “But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.” (I Timothy 5:4) Our mothers cared for us during our growing years. They cared for us physically and financially, and now as they grow older it falls upon us to take care of them in their old age.
Truly, mothers deserve obedience, respect, affection, wisdom, righteousness, and care every single day of their lives. Honoring mothers is more than just a one day a year celebration. They deserve more than cards and flowers. THEY DESERVE OUR LOVE.
Written by Larry Schneider
