Mothers: Laying down the law

Introduction: Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia originated Mother’s Day on May 12, 1907. Since then, the Second Sunday in May has traditionally been deemed as Mother’s Day to honor mothers everywhere.

What do you think is the key to a productive and successful life from birth through childhood and beyond? Well, I would submit to you that it is GOOD PARENTING! What is GOOD PARENTING? It is mom and dad doing what is required of them (as parents), and it is children doing what is required of them (as unto the Lord). We see these two ideas in the following verses:

· Ephesians 6:4 - And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

· Colossians 4:20 - Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

When done right the following happens:

· Parents TRAIN & Instruct.

· Children OBEY and Learn.

Who lays down the law in your home?Is it dad, or is it mom? Perhaps it’s both. I find that usually there is the strict parent and there is the lenient parent. Which are you – the strict or the lenient parent? How would your children answer that question? Is mom the push over or is it dad?

I want us to turn in our Bible to the book of Proverbs. Solomon opens this book by telling his son, Rehoboam to hear the instruction of his father, and not to forsake the law of his mother (Proverbs 1:8), and then he closes this wisdom book with the words, “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him” (Proverbs 31:1). Scholar believe that Lemuel is another name that Solomon went by.

Both fathers and mothers are to be raising their children today. Scripture is the guidebook for rightly raising our children. Use the truth of God’s Word – you can’t go wrong.

I. Receive Mom’s Law - Proverbs 1:8-9

8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; 9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

The combined and unified teaching of both the father and mother go a long way to helping the inexperienced find their way through the maze of problems in life. Did you catch the word, unified? Mom and Dad must be on the same song sheet when it comes to raising children.

Fathers, you have a great responsibility to raise your children. And I would never minimize the role you play (even though society today does). However, through experience, I know just how much a mother has invested in her children.

Fathers Verses Mothers Influence

Most dads leave home before the kids are even up and come home just a few hours before the kids go to bed. So, then, who has spent most of the day with the children? Mom has. Who has the greater influence on the children? Mom does.

School Versus Church Influence

Here is another similar question: If kids spend 6 hours a day in public schools (120 hours a month), and they spend 2 hours a week (32 hours a month) in church. Which is going to have a greater influence on their lives?

Since Moms spend more time with the children it only makes sense that Moms are going to have a greater influence on their children. Heavy hangs on you Mom!

Mom is to lay down the law. In Proverbs 1:8, the word “law in Hebrew is tora (to-raw’). Mom is to pass along God’s Word to their children. They are to teach their children the Bible. Every child needs to have direction, instruction, and law.

Every person in every society needs laws. We have laws in our society. They are broken up into the following categories of laws:

· Traffic laws

· Gun laws

· Civic laws

· State and local laws

· Federal laws

· Ordinances

· International laws

What good would those laws be if no one obeyed them? Laws provide the guidance we need in a society for the society to function minus all the possible issues that might arise without them.

School Traffic Laws

Driving 25mph in a school zone is a good law. It protects students as they cross the highway. When not obeyed people get injured.

Now, let’s move all of this into the realm of raising children with God’s Word. When we use God’s word to raise our children, we provide instruction and knowledge so that they can function in today’s world. What are some of the areas of life where children need guidance?

· Respect for parents and siblings.

· Behavior.

· Relationships with friends.

· Finances – how to handle money.

· Proper use of their time.

· Productive versus Laziness.

· Nutrition/Healthy eating.

· Discipline.

· Cleanliness.

What child doesn’t need some light along their pathway of the many and various choices they will make every day? Every child needs biblical instruction given to them by their mother. A mom must lay down the law.

Children don’t miss the exhortation in this verse not to forsake or leave your mother’s teaching. It means not to cast it off. Her law is not a restraint. As she passes along Scripture to you it is to set you FREE (John 8:32). Receive the law she passes down to you from God’s Word. It is for your GOOD!

Moms must give their children what is both proactive and preventive instruction. I’ll talk about this a little later in the message.

Do you know how the book of Proverbs closes? It closes with words that a mother spoke to her son. She said,

“Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink” (Proverbs. 31:3-4).

Every child would do well to listen to such teaching. Clear, concise, and godly biblical instruction.

II. Follow Mom’s Laws – Proverbs 10:1

A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Proverbs is replete with passages warning children about wrong attitudes toward the teaching of parents. The role of a parent is not to become their children’s best friend. That may come later in life once your child leaves your home. The role of parenting is to help your children mature, grow up, and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 12:30).

When I became a Christian as a teenager, I would hear youth in our youth group say things that almost sounded as if they regretted the fact that they were raised in a Christian home. I would look at them and say, “You were so blessed to be raised by Christian parents. I would have given anything to have been raised by Christian parents.” Children and young people, if you are blessed with a Christian mom, you should be thankful. Don’t fight the law that she lays down.

A wise child (obedient and compliant) will show appreciation for the law of a mother. A foolish child (disobedient and rebellious) will reject the law and create all kinds of problems for themselves and their family. Now, and maybe even in the future. It never pays to break the law (Scripture).

· Moms – do your job! Lay down God’s law.

· Children – do your job! Receive and follow God’s law.

Listen to the following words from Solomon. He wrote,

Proverbs 15:20 - A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.

A foolish man is not someone ignorant of God’s laws, but someone who just refuses to obey God’s laws. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17).

Solomon continued…

· Proverbs 19:26 - He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother Is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

· Proverbs 23:22 - Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

· Proverbs 28:24 - Whoever robs his father or his mother, And says, “It is no transgression,” The same is companion to a destroyer.

· Proverbs 30:17 - The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.

Moms play an essential role in shaping their children. As I was preparing for today, I ran across Howard A. Kelly, M. D., dedication to his book, A Scientific Man and the Bible.

Here is the dedication taken from his book:

Look at the last line of the Psalm – “the son of thine handmaid;” Howard Kelly’s mom served God, and she passed along God’s law to her son.

Mom’s never stop laying down God’s law.

III. Acknowledge Mom’s Laws – Proverbs 31:28

Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:

The 31 chapters of Proverbs speak a lot about a father teaching his son, but it is also interspersed that children should pay attention to their mothers as well (especially the law of their mother). I find it interesting that Proverbs does not end by talking about the virtue of a Father, even though fathers are so very important to the family unit, but that of a wife and mother. It focuses on the virtuous wife and mother. Isn’t this an interesting bit of insight?

Did you have, or have you today a godly mom? Will you take the time on this Mother’s Day (May 12, 2024) to acknowledge everything she has done for you, especially in imparting biblical truth into your life? Children I encourage you to:

· Receive the law of your mother.

· Follow the law of your mother.

· Acknowledge the law of your mother.

If you were to read Proverbs 31, you would quickly spot that King Lemuel’s mother was very concerned about how her son would live out his day-to-day life – after all, he was a king, and he had a responsibility first, to God and secondly, to his subjects (Proverbs 31:1-9). His mother wanted him to live a respectable life. That’s a good goal.

Next, as you read the second part of Proverbs 31, you would notice that King Lemuel’s mother was encouraging her son to make the best choice when choosing a wife and the future mother of his children. Wow! What an important concept! Help your sons make good choices in future mates. Start when they are little. Teach them first to be godly, and then to look for a godly wife.

King Lemuel’s mother told him to seek out a virtuous wife, and not to settle for just any woman. There are a lot of women who want a husband but are not necessarily godly, or even virtuous. Any woman can become a wife, but not every woman will choose to follow the law of her mother. And this is what will separate a wife from a godly wife, and a mother from a godly mother.

King Lemuel’s mother wanted her son to find a woman who lived out the Scripture in her own life. In other words, a woman who receives, follows, and acknowledges the law of her mother. What kind of woman are you wanting to become? Hopefully a godly one.

Now, if you were blessed to be raised by a mother who sought to lay down the law of God you should be thankful, and if your mother is still alive you should go to her and express your gratitude to her. Proverbs 31:28 says,

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

Who on Mother’s Day is supposed to praise mom? Her children and her husband.

Heinz 57

When the will of Henry J. Heinz, wealthy distributor of the famous “57 Varieties” line, was read it was found to contain the following confession:

“Looking forward to the time when my earthly career will end, I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will, as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I also desire to bear witness to the fact that throughout my life, in which there were unusual joys and sorrows, I have been wonderfully sustained by my faith in God through Jesus Christ. This legacy was left me by my consecrated mother, a woman of strong faith, and to it I attribute any success I have attained.”[1]

Moms never underestimate the value you play in the life of your children, and children never neglect the law of your mother.

Here’s why. Allow me to read Proverbs 1:9, from four different translations of the Bible. This verse tells children why they should not cast off mom’s law. We read,

· NKJV - For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

· NLT – What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

· ESV - for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

· Message - Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your fingers.

I found it quite interesting that the word “ornament” carries with it the idea of authority and honor, and that the word “chain” carries with it the sign of new responsibilities and a mark and reminder of moral heritage.

Moms, do you want your children to have beautiful lives? Teach them God’s law (Scripture). Start at the birth of each child, and don’t let a day go by without pointing your child to God’s Word. A mother will need the support of her husband. Fathers don’t neglect your duty – moms need you!

Conclusion: I want to close this message by sharing with you a story that I read about the Statue of Liberty. Its story goes like this:

For the past one hundred and thirty-eight years the majestic statue "Liberty Enlightening the World" has towered above Bedloe's Island, near the entrance to New York Harbor, as a symbol of the freedom that we enjoy here in America.

The famous sculptor, Bartholdi, gave twenty years of devoted effort to the work, personally superintending the raising of the subscription of $4,000,000 with which the French nation gave the statue to the United States. When the subscriptions lagged, Bartholdipledged his own private fortune to defray the running expenses and practically impoverished himself over the work. At the start, when Bartholdi - looked for a model whose form and features, he could reproduce as "Liberty," he received much contradictory counsel. One of the leading art authorities advised him that the statue should depict "figures of thought which are grand in themselves." After examining outstanding heroes, Bartholdi chose as a model for the colossal masterpiece-his own mother.2

Never underestimate the value a mother plays in the lives of her children. Mother's we THANK you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done and continue to do. Never give up.

Please join me in “rising and praising” our mothers today. Let's show our appreciation to every one of them. Thank you, thank you, moms.

[1]Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 842). Bible Communications, Inc.

[2] Ibid