A POWERFUL POSITION
By: Roger Rush
Who wields more influence over the lives of others than any other person? Who is absolutely essential to the survival of society and the future well-being of our nation and perhaps the world? It’s not the president, not the chairman of any corporation, nor the chancellor of any university. It’s MOTHERS!
William Ross Wallace wrote: “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” Abraham Lincoln said of his mother, “All that I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.” And, Joaquin Miller penned: “The bravest battle that ever was fought, shall I tell you where and when? On the maps of the world you will find it not; it was fought by the mothers of men.”
On May 9, 1914 President Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day for the “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” No one is more deserving of honor than mothers. On them God bestowed the unique and special privilege of cooperating with Him in giving life to another human being. Since God created Adam and Eve no man has entered this world without a mother. Even His own Son came into this world through Mary.
In spite of all that has been said, motherhood is under assault. We have raised several generations to believe that women must demand more from life than being wives and mothers. These inferior positions of service and subjection must be abandoned for the boardroom, the assembly line, and the political stump. In the process, many children have been left to fend for themselves. All of society has suffered as a result, and none more than children.
What God intended mothers to do we are now told requires a village to accomplish. The fact is, no one can replace a mother, not a grandmother, not a nanny, not a day care center, and certainly not a village. I know there are situations where mothers can not be there for their children, but in many cases today, mothers have simply chosen to turn the responsibilities for child rearing over to others with disastrous consequences.
Although it may not be popular, no better advice for mothers can be found than that offered in Scripture. “Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:2-5)
We would do well to heed this Divine call for mothers to be mothers!