“THREE THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME”



“THREE THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME”

PROVERBS 1:8-9

INTRO: As we honor our mothers today let us never lose sight of the influence

of a godly mother. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “People are what their

mothers make them.” Abraham Lincoln said, “All that I am or hope to

be I owe to my angel mother.” Lord Shaftesburgy said, “Give me a

generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change the

whole face of society in twelve months” (1). Yes, not only is mom a

wonderful influence on our lives, but she also is an educator, en-

courager, engineer, and electrician. Mom, it seems, has many jobs to

fill in a typical day. But the greatest job she fills is the role of molding

young lives. God knew there should be mothers to hear each

infant's cry, To pat away the little tears that fill a baby's eye . . .

God knew there should be mothers to hear a child's first word, To

listen with attention when a child's voice must be heard . . .

God knew that each and every child needs someone close each day

To help them out, to cheer them up at home, at school, at play –

To teach them how to share this world with sisters and with brothers

- And so in His great wisdom. God created mothers.- Jean Kyler

McManus, on a greeting card

It is true, as someone has said, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules

the world.” In a world that is filled with sin, what a joy it is to know

that there are still some godly mothers out there that love, encourage,

and teach their children about the LORD. Who pray for their children

and “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” "No

man is poor when he has a Godly mother."- Abraham Lincoln

- Pulpit Helps, Oct. 1991, p. 8 This morning we want to honor our

Mothers by looking at this subject, “THREE THINGS MY MOTHER

TAUGHT ME.”

(1) YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND

Proverbs 31:26—“She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her

tongue is the law of kindness.”

*In Proverbs 31:10-31, we read about the characteristics of a virtuous

woman. In a society bent on destruction, a virtuous woman’s worth, as

v10 says, “…Is far above rubies.” One of the qualities missing in many

mothers today is honesty. It use to be that when mother said it, it was so.

But in this wicked society, lying has become more convenient and

expedient for many.

ILLUS: A little girl came very early one morning to her mother, saying:

"Which is worse, Mamma, to tell a lie or to steal?" The mother

replied that both were so sinful she could not tell which was the

worse. "Well, Mamma," replied the little one, "I've been thinking a

good deal about it, and I think it is ever so much worse to lie than

to steal." "Why, my child?" asked the mother. "Well, you see,

Mamma, it's like this," said the little girl. "If you steal a thing you

can take it back 'less you've eaten it; and if you've eaten it, you can

pay for it. But" -- and there was a look of awe in her face -- "a lie is

forever."

We need to teach our children that lying is serious and God hates for us to

lie (Ephesians 4:25). Mom taught me:

A. My Word Is My Pledge. Mom taught us that when you say something it

better be the truth or else we shouldn’t speak it. Charles Finney said,

“A person who is dishonest in little things isn’t really honest in anything”

2) Mom taught us that if I can’t be trusted in little things then I would

never be entrusted with big things.

ILLUS: What would you pick as the most important trait for effective

leadership? A survey of 15,000 people revealed that honesty is

the most necessary ingredient. The results were in a book en-

titled, Credibility, by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. These

two authors noted, “Honest people have credibility and that’s

what gives leaders the trust and confidence of their people.”

Their work also cites the second, third, and fourth most

important traits of effective leaders. In order of importance

were the characteristics of being visionary, inspirational, and

competent. Although competency is always necessary, it is

interesting to realize that people ranked three other traits as

more important. (Communication Briefings, Volume XVI, No. 1,

p. 7)

B. My Word Is Powerful. The words I speak have power in them. They

edify or destroy. They can encourage or discourage. They can motivate

or unmotivate. James 3 says, “Even so the tongue is a little member,

and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire

kindleth!”

ILLUS: When D. L. Moody and his family retired for the evening on

October 8, 1871, Mr. Moody felt sure his family was a safe

distance from a fire that was burning in another part of

Chicago. But in the early morning hours the Moodys were

awakened and warned to flee their home. Fanned by fierce

winds, the great fire raged throughout the city, devouring

everything--including Moody's home and church--in its path.

A fire that had reportedly started in a cow's stall leveled an

entire city in a matter of hours, leaving 100,000 people

homeless, 17,500 buildings destroyed, and 300 people dead.

We know that words can spread like fire, too. Since words

implant ideas in our minds and stir emotions, their effects for

good or evil can be profound. --Moody

Mom taught me that MY WORD IS MY PLEDGE and MY WORD IS

POWERFUL. Let us as David pray, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my

mouth; keep the door of my lips.” (Psa 141:3)

(2) YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW

Galatians 6:7—“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatso-

ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

*Mom taught us that there were always consequences to our actions. If

we disobeyed we could expect to get punished for our disobedience. If we

obeyed we could expect mom’s praise and blessing.

ILLUS: Mike Buetelle tells the following, “When I was in junior high, the

eighth-grade bully punched me in the stomach. Not only did it

hurt and make me angry, but the embarrassment and humiliation

were almost intolerable. I wanted desperately to even the score! I

planned to meet him by the bike racks the next day and let him

have it.

For some reason, I told my plan to Nana, my grandmother - big

mistake. She gave me one of her hour-long lectures (that woman

could really talk). The lecture was a total drag, but among other

things, I vaguely remember her telling me that I didn't need to

worry about him. She said, "Good deeds beget good results, and

evil deeds beget bad results." I told her, in a nice way, of course,

that I thought she was full of it. I told her that I did good things

all the time, and all I got in return was "baloney!" (I didn't use

that word.) She stuck to her guns, though. She said, "Every good

deed will come back to you someday, and every bad thing you do

will also come back to you."

It took me 30 years to understand the wisdom of her words. Nana

was living in a board-and-care home in Laguna Hills, California.

Each Tuesday, I came by and took her out to dinner. I would

always find her neatly dressed and sitting in a chair right by the

front door. I vividly remember our very last dinner together before

she went into the convalescent hospital. We drove to a nearby

simple little family-owned restaurant. I ordered pot roast for Nana

and a hamburger for myself. The food arrived and as I dug in, I

noticed that Nana wasn't eating. She was just staring at the food

on her plate. Moving my plate aside, I took Nana's plate, placed it

in front of me, and cut her meat into small pieces. I then placed

the plate back in front of her. As she very weakly, and with great

difficulty, forked the meat into her mouth, I was struck with a

memory that brought instant tears to my eyes. Forty years

previously, as a little boy sitting at the table. Nana had always

taken the meat on my plate and cut it into small pieces so I could

eat it.

It had taken 40 years, but the good deed had been repaid. Nana

was right. We reap exactly what we sow. "Every good deed you do

will someday come back to you."

What about the eighth-grade bully? He ran into the ninth-grade

bully. By Mike Buetelle, from A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for

the Soul, Copyright 1995 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor

Hansen

ILLUS: Charles Spurgeon said, “it is taken forgranted in the world that

young persons ought to be allowed to sow their “wild oats,” and

then it is hoped that they will settle down. But these wild oats

are more easily sown than reaped, and many men might weep

tears of blood to think of what a harvest has sprung from them

(3).

*MOM TAUGHT:

A. Bad Associations Lead to Bad Actions. Proverbs 13:20, “He that

walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be

destroyed.” If you hang around the wrong company you are gonna

end up doing wrong things.

ILLUS: The story is told of some boys who were just out having a good

time. Some of them got the idea to steal a car. As they were

pushing it off the lot quietly, so as not to be heard, they were

looking in every direction to see if anyone was seeing them. One

of the boys said, “We haven’t looked up.”

B. Bad Attitudes Lead to Bad Outlooks. “The great discovery of my

generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their

attitudes of mind”-William James (4). Mom told us boys, “Things are

never as bad as they seem to be. Things could always get worse. Keep

a positive attitude and keep moving forward.”

ILLUS: In his book, Your Attitude: Key to Success, John Maxwell says,

“Our attitude determines our approach to life. The story of the

two buckets underlies the truth. One bucket was an optimist,

and the other was a pessimist. “There has never been a life as

disappointing as mine,” said the empty bucket as it approached

the well. “I never come away from the well full, but what I return

empty again.” “There has never been such a happy life as mine,”

said the full bucket as it left the well. “I never come to the well

empty, but what I go away again full” (5).

We would find that our attitudes about our life and circumstances would

change and our outlook brighten, if we would heed the words of the writer

of Hebrews in Hebrews 12:1-3, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed

about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and

the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race

that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the

shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider

him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be

wearied and faint in your minds.”

If we would keep our eyes on Jesus, our attitudes about things would

change and our outlook sweeter!

(3) YOU CAN COUNT ON GOD

Proverbs 3:5-6—“Trust in the LORD with all thing heart; and lean

not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknow-

ledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

*Mom taught us no matter what the problem we could count on God! She

said:

A. God is Aware of our Problems. Psalm 33:18, “Behold, the eye of the

LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.”

God cares about each one of His children and He knows what we are

facing.

ILLUS: My Bible professor, Dr. Dewey Roach, told this story about his

little daughter. One night after the family had turned out the

lights and had gone to bed. Dr. Roach's little daughter was a

bit frightened and began to cry. Mrs. Roach tried to soothe the

child's fears and said, "Don't worry, God is with us even in the

dark." Her little daughter replied, "But I can't see God in the

dark." Isn't that our problem? We can't see God because of

the darkness of sin, the shadows of worry and anxiety, the

shades of suffering and death, and the ghastly problems of

war, disease, death, crime, and natural disasters that beset

our world. We need to remember that Jesus came to give light

to those who sit in the shadows of death and who walk in the

darkness. (Luke 1:79). - Bill Citwood, Proclaim, July-Sept.

1995, p. 16

B. God is Available for our Problems. Psalm 34:17 say, “The righteous

cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

“It is the constant practice of real believers, when in distress, to cry

unto God, and it is their constant comfort that he hears them”-

Matthew Henry (6). Mom taught us that God is AWARE and

AVAILABLE to help us with our problems because of his amazing

grace.

ILLUS: Have you ever thought of how a rainbow is a perfect picture of

God's grace? Life's storms may buffet us, ripping apart our

plans and flooding us with multiplied problems, many of which

are of our own making. But grace is God's promise that we will

not be destroyed, just as a rainbow was his promise that he

would never again send a flood to devastate the earth. The

rainbow is God's gift to us to remind us of his greater gift: his

amazing grace. His grace is always there to draw upon--when

we remember to do so. -- Barbara Johnson, From Pack Up

Your Gloomies in a Great Big Box. Copyright 1993 by Word

Publishing. Used by permission, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 10,

no. 3.

CLOSING: Mom taught me three things: YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND, YOU

REAP WHAT YOU SOW, and YOU CAN COUNT ON GOD. I want

to share this poem with you in closing:

Who Else, But A Mother? © 1999

by Linda Ellis

Who first loves and nurtures us

and takes care of every need,

as she accepts into her life

someone new to bathe and feed?

Who brags about accomplishments;

first teeth...first sounds...first smile

and makes every little thing that's done

seem important and worthwhile?

Who’s been known to, after dark

enter a room and slowly creep

to bend and kiss the forehead

of a child fast asleep?

Who holds a hand while crossing

as she thoughtfully conveys

a reminder to her child

that he should always "look both ways?"

Who wipes peanut butter off a cheek

and crayon off the wall

and knots an untied shoelace

to avoid a likely fall?

Who watches the swift passing

of childhood years that she will mourn,

and remembers every small detail

about the day that child was born?

Who works the longest hours

without a vacation...or a check,

but accepts her payment in the form

of a hug around her neck?

Who never stops believing

even when others are in doubt

and defends the fact her child was "safe"

when the umpire calls him out!?

Who senses things just aren’t right

and with the palm of her hand decrees

by placing it on her child’s brow...

the fever’s 101 degrees?

Who shares life’s disappointments

and feels the pain of all the bruises

and delights in her child’s winnings,

but offers solace when he loses?

Who realizes as the years pass by...

the further her child will roam

and who stays up late with worry

when that child isn’t home?

Who tries to shield and protect

by showing courage...staying strong;

trying to set a good example

while her heart is breaking all along?

Who acts as a private tutor

as the years fall in succession

by taking each opportunity

to teach life's every lesson?

Who listens with her heart

even when her child is grown

and understands the feelings

that she once herself, had known?

Who saved old cards and letters

and kept pictures on the shelves

and offered unconditional love...

so we could learn to love, ourselves?

This poem describes one person:

a woman unlike any other,

for who could possess that level of love...

Who Else, But a Mother?

Today we want to say “Thanks, MOM!” for all the things you have

taught us and the ways you have enriched our lives. WE love you!

NOTES: 1. Robert J. Morgan. Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations

& Quotes. Pg. 578.

Morgan. Pg. 442.

Charles H. Spurgeon. 2200 Quotations from the Writings of

Charles H. Spurgeon. Pg. 338.

Morgan. Pg. 36.

Morgan. Pg. 37.

Owen Collins. The Classic Bible Commentary. Pg. 471.

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