Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - A DAY FOR MOTHERS

 A DAY FOR MOTHERS

The modern celebration of Mother's Day as we know it formally begun in 1907 by Anna Jarvis as a tribute to her own mother, and it has been celebrated since then in many countries of the world. But there was a day to celebrate mothering long before that and it extended back into pagan times when festivals were held in Greece and Rome to honour the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele.

Mothers, however, should not be honoured on just one day but really on every day of the year. In the first commandment regarding interpersonal affairs, God said:

Honour 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)

It was a commandment given at a time when women, including mothers, were not held in high respect by society. It gave, in essence, a statement of the equality between man and woman. And honour was not only to be given when the individuals were alive, but it was implied that this was to be for all time, and not only in words but in deeds also.

When the Pharisees questioned Christ and His followers about transgressing the tradition of the Jewish people, He replied by saying:

Honour your father and mother; 

[for] He who curses father or mother, 

let him be put to death. 

But you say, ‘whoever says to his father or mother, 

Whatever profit you might have received from me 

is a gift to God; then he need not honour his father or mother.’

(Matthew 15:4-6)

In the time of Christ, some people used the reasoning that if they, as adults, said that all their possessions were gifts to God, then they could say that none of their belongings were available to help their parents. Therefore, Christ said that anyone who deprived their parents of necessities by declaring that all their possessions were to be given to God really did not honour their parents at all. Honouring them by word, and not deed, was not giving them honour at all and was in effect a curse. This is why He followed by saying:

Hypocrites!…These people draw near to Me with their mouth, 

and honour Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

(Matthew 15:7-8)

It’s nice to give flowers or cards or something similar on Mother’s Day, but it’s what we do all year long in our time and considerations that really count. Honouring our parents with words on one day and not following through with deeds the rest of the year is the same as giving God praise with our lips and not with our actions.

So honour your mother (or if is the case, her memory) with your actions and not just sentiments in the same way God is honoured by what you do and not just by what you say.

It’s just one more thing to think about.