Honoring your Mother – Deuteronomy 5:16
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
Loving one’s mother is as instinctive as breathing to many, especially, to those who have had kind, tenderhearted, wise mothers. Following our Heavenly Father’s command to honor her, that is, to esteem her highly, to place her in a position of utmost respect, to treat her with devotion and high regard is the natural return for the love she poured out so selflessly. Loving her as one loves oneself is no struggle.[1]
Yet many do struggle. They find it difficult to withhold judgment and condemnation from her,[2] to be kind to her, tenderhearted, forgiving her for any wrong she may have done,[3] but honoring, loving, accepting, serving, and forgiving her is not an option; it is a commandment.
If we desire to grow in faith so our attachment to Christ will deepen, we cannot ignore the Word’s explicit instruction to hold our mothers in a special place of high regard. We must guard our words lest we speak against her or treat her with harshness. We must seek ways to demonstrate our caring for her rather than neglecting her and bringing her dishonor. For showing dishonor to one’s mother is a great unkindness, and it is ill advised. The wise bring happiness to their mothers, while the foolish, in treating their mothers with disrespect, bring grief to her heart.[4] Such unwise sons and daughters disregard the Lord’s teaching at their great peril,[5] for the Word cautions that they who curse their mothers will have their lights put out in a time of darkness.[6]
Commit today to loving and honoring your mother with an ever deepening affection and growing devotion. If you have always loved and admired her, praise God for blessing you with this precious relationship. If rather than loving and honoring her, you have judged her, neglected her, or become embittered towards her, seek forgiveness for your sins against her, even as you forgive her any wrong against you. Ask the Lord to soften your heart towards her. If she tarries on this earth and it is within your power to do so, reach out to her with kindness, appreciation, and acceptance.
Love and honor your mother out of
the tender heart that the Lord will give to you if you ask Him for it, and the
Lord will bless your obedience.[7]
[1] Leviticus 19:18
[2] Luke 6:37
[3] Ephesians 4:32
[4] Proverbs 10:1, 15:20
[5] Deuteronomy 27:16
[6] Proverbs 20:20
[7] Deuteronomy 4:40
