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Introduction:
A mother’s love. That phrase brings many pictures to our mind.
We think of tenderness and unconditional devotion. We think of
bandaged knees and kissed boo-boos. We think of late night talks
and emotional protection. We have seen movies that highlight the
love of a mother. We have read stories and heard poems. We have
even told the joke about the guy who had a face only a mother
could love. These are all great pictures and are even used in
scripture (e.g. I
Thessalonians 2:7-8). However, do they fully define what a
mother’s love should be? Like most discussions on love, we need
to talk about how it behaves, not just how it feels. The Bible
actually provides a great synopsis of how a mother’s love should
act in Titus
2:4-5. Examine this passage and learn the true definition
of a mother’s love. Discussion: I.
Mothers must love their husbands and be subject to them. A.
As Paul summed up a mother’s love, he bookended his
definition by describing her relationship with her husband, saying
she must love and be subject to him. Before a woman can be the
mother she is to be, she must be the wife she is to be. B.
The issue of subjection and submission is perhaps the most
repeated statement about the role of wives in the New Testament—Ephesians
5:22, 24; Colossians 3:18; I Peter 3:1, 5. This concept
does not mean the husband is to be a tyrant or the wife is a
doormat. It means a mother’s love recognizes the father as head
of the family and submits to his guidance and direction (unless,
of course, his guidance and direction are diametrically opposed to
God’s). C.
The word translated love here is a form of the word “philos,”
which actually means “friend.” Mothers, you are to be friends
with your husbands. I think the picture of friendship is best
described by Proverbs
31:12, doing good for your husband all the days of your
life. If you want to love your children, then love their father.
Don’t resent him. Don’t compete with him. Don’t turn your
kids against him. Be his friend. Talk with him. Open up to him and
let him do the same with you. Be friends. It is proper to say that
our best friend should be our spouse. II.
Mothers must love their children. A.
This word is also a form of the word “philos,” meaning
friend. It is not the natural affection mothers have for their
children. Have you ever heard a mother say, “I love my children,
but sometimes I just don’t like them.”? That liking them is
the kind of love Paul is talking about. B.
Being a friend to your children means wanting to be with
them, not wanting to get away from them. It means helping them and
doing what is best for them, even when they are not doing what is
best for you. It means looking past their immaturity, their
foolishness, their mistakes and seeing someone who needs your
affection and warmth. It means supporting them in their godly
endeavors. It means training them in proper behavior. C.
Being a friend, however, does not mean you always agree
with them, let them do whatever they want or try to be that hip
and happy mama who lets them dress however they want, go to
whichever church they want or have beer parties at your home. A
friend is someone who holds people accountable to God’s
standards. When that friend is their mother, they even have to
discipline those children. As Proverbs
27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
Mothers, sometimes you need to wound your children when you are
their friend. But when you wound them, it must be out of
friendship, not out of vengeance, selfishness or personal
embarrassment. III.
Mothers must be sensible. A.
The mother’s love proceeds from a sound and sober mind.
How easy it is for anyone to fly by the seat of their pants,
making spur of the moment decisions that flow from emotions. I
realize some people have great instincts—and women seem to have
that sixth sense we call a woman’s intuition. However, at the
same time, a mother’s love must be governed by sensibility, not
emotionalism, fear or envy. B.
Consider a few statements made regarding the Proverbs
31 woman. “She looks for wool and flax and works with
her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; she brings her
food from afar…She considers a field and buys it; from her
earnings she plants a vineyard…She is not afraid of the snow for
her household, for all her household are clothed with
scarlet…Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at
the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom…” These statements
highlight sensibility. A mother’s love is governed by
consideration, planning and wisdom. IV.
Mothers must be pure. A.
The need for this teaching seems to be particularly great
in today’s society. Immorality and immodesty seem to be at an
all time high. While we often hammer the men on these issues,
please remember that for every David there is a Bathsheba. For
every man who lusts after an immodestly clad woman, there is the
immodestly clad woman. Mothers, your love must be pure. B.
I know you had all kinds of visions of a knight in shining
armor on his charging white steed who would sweep you off your
feet and ravish you with his love and complete devotion. Then you
married that guy who belches, sweats and stinks, spends most of
his time at work, doesn’t listen to you, takes you for granted,
is constantly trying to fix you and frankly has gained so much
weight that he no longer fits in his armor. Television, the movies
and romance novels feed far too many impure thoughts for mothers
these days, creating fantasy worlds of real love. Regrettably, too
many mothers look for their knight in a neighbor or co-worker,
turning from their purity. C.
Peter describes the purity the mother must have in I
Peter 3:2-4. It begins in your heart, having a gentle and
quiet spirit. When you get your heart in line, your dress and
conduct will follow. V.
Mothers must be workers at home. A.
Many have read these words and thought Paul was saying
house work is woman’s work. It has been central in the debate
regarding whether or not women are allowed to work outside the
home. This word, however, is not about keeping house in the sense
that we most often think. According to Stong’s lexicon, the term
used here literally means a house guard. B.
A mother’s love is most demonstrated by this
characteristic. Her purpose is to guard her home from the
encroachments of the enemy. As the keeper of purity and the
purveyor of wisdom, the mother stands up against the devil and his
worldly servants to make sure her home is a safe haven from all
that might turn her family away from God’s path. This is going
to entail everything from monitoring television and internet usage
to protecting the feel and mood of the home. C.
One point to make contrasted with being a house guard can
be found in I
Timothy 5:11-14. Younger widows were not to be placed on
the church’s list because they would become idle busybodies. The
love of a mother is to be focused on guarding her own home, not
dabbling in everyone else’s. If anything is demonstrated by the Proverbs
31 woman, it is this concept of working to protect and
care for her home, her children and her family. As Proverbs
31:27 says, “She looks well to the ways of her
household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.” VI.
Mothers must be kind. A.
The word translated “kind” in the NASB means good,
virtuous or upright. In this context, “kind” is a decent
translation because it conveys the concept of doing what is good
for others. As we have already learned from Proverbs
31:12, the mother who loves properly always does what is
good for her husband. In the same way, she does what is good for
her children. B.
As Proverbs
31:26 says, “The teaching of kindness is on her
tongue.” A mother’s love is marked by goodness in action and
in word. Her speech is like that described in Ephesians
4:29, speaking only that which builds up and refraining
from that which tears down. C.
Because you are often doing good for your families and your
families are rarely as appreciative as they ought to be, mothers,
you would do well to remember Galatians
6:9. Do not lose heart in doing good. You will reap
God’s goodness if you do not grow weary. Conclusion: Titus concludes by explaining why a mother’s love is so important (Titus 2:5). When a mother loves her family as she ought, there is no room for the word of God to be dishonored in her life or because of her life. First, her very life and action honors God. Further, those who see her in action will honor God. Most importantly, those children she raises will honor God. What a great work mothers perform, may they always do it with a mother’s love.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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