Top Ten Things Mom Would Never Say
Listen to mom and things will go well.
10. “How on earth can you see the TV if you’re sitting so far back?”
9. “That’s fine, I used to skip church a lot, too.”
8. “If you need more sugar and caffeine I’ll get you that 46 oz. Coke.”
7. “Just leave all the lights on … it makes the house look more cheery.”
6. “Let me smell that shirt – yeah, that’s good for another week.”
5. “Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I’ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.”
4. “Well, if Timmy says it’s okay, then it’s good enough for me.”
3. “The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It’s not like I’m running a prison around here.”
2. “Please take that jacket off, the wind chill is bound to improve.”
1. “No, I don’t have a tissue. Oh well, just use your sleeve.”
Like the mom who wore a T-shirt that said, “No! A mother’s favorite word.” Sometimes it might seem that way, to both mothers and kids. Always nagging. Always disagreeing. Always spoiling fun. But it doesn’t seem that way to God. He says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth’” (Ephesians 6:1-3).
A mom who is shaping and guiding her children “in the Lord” with God-pleasing direction and discipline is always right. And obeying that mom is always right. Never wrong. Never a mistake. Never a dumb idea.
As a matter of fact, listening to mom, according to the Bible, has its benefits. It’s a “commandment with a promise.” Listen to mom and things will go well. Listen to mom and you’ll enjoy a better life.
So, moms, you may feel that sometimes your index finger is going to get stuck in that position of shaking it intensely and repeatedly at your kids. But they need it. They’re better for it. Especially when that same index finger is pointing them to God’s expectations and God’s promises that you understand better than they do. That you’re sharing with them in ways they don’t yet know. But someday they will.
PRAYER: God of love, bless the mothers of our world, especially those who are actively bringing up their children in the training and instruction of your Word. Give them wisdom and stamina for this great calling, and let their care be received eagerly and with gratitude. Have compassion on mothers who grieve the loss of children through miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature death, and care tenderly for those mothers who have been unable to bear children, that they may be comforted in their longing and fulfilled with other blessed mercies. Guide mothers who are making transitions from school to work, from singleness to marriage, from parenting to empty nests, from families to singleness, or from work to unemployment. And strengthen all mothers of all ages in their calling that they may be fulfilled with the love and honor of their dear children. Amen.