Don’t Forget Mother’s Day

As I was in Wal-Mart last night, doing a little grocery shopping, I saw swarms of men buying flowers and Mother’s Day balloons. It took me a moment to catch on, as I was thinking they were buying their flowers a bit early. Those flowers wouldn’t last well till the weekend, especially if those men forgot to put them in water.

While we celebrate Mother’s Day this coming Sunday, in Mexico it is celebrated today. Since the population where I live is 87% Hispanic, I should have caught on to that a bit sooner. Once I did, I was glad to see all those flowers going out the door.

Mexico makes a big deal about Mother’s Day. Largely due to the history of the Conquista, mothers play a very big part in the family. While Father’s Day isn’t all that big a deal, Mother’s Day is. In fact, Mexican men often stay very close to their mothers all through their lives; often closer than they ever get to their wives.

While I’m not in agreement with the idea of being closer to one’s mother than their wife, I appreciate how much effort the Mexican people put into celebrating Mother’s Day and the high honor they bestow upon their mothers on this day.

Yet, what about the rest of the year? How much honor to we give to our wives, as the mothers of our children, the rest of the year. How much honor do we expect our children to give them? Do we let them get away with arguing with their mother, or do we step in and put a stop to it?

There is a difference between the authority of a man and the authority of a woman. While she is always mom, she’s still a woman. She isn’t the physical threat to the kids that you and I are. C’mon now, when a woman spanks her kids, does it really hurt? Not with most women. They don’t have the upper body strength or know how to get the leverage to make that spanking mean much of anything. Oh, the kids cry all right, but that’s just to get out of it getting any worse.

Way too many kids argue with their mothers, while their father sits there quietly, letting it happen. That’s out and out rebellion, and when we allow it, we’re undermining our wife’s authority with the children. Remember, a woman’s children are an important part of her life and her world. Whatever happens with them affects every area of her life. So, when they are rebellious and we let them get away with it, we’re helping bring down her world.

God never intended for women to be men. Isn’t that great? Well, then why do we expect them to act like men, when it comes to dealing with rebellious children? Make up your mind. Do you want your wife to be feminine or masculine? If you want her to be feminine, then expect her to be feminine in everything. That means, when she needs strength, such as for dealing with the kids, you have to be her strength.

Make your children treat your wife with respect. In doing so, you’ll show her that you respect her too.