Honor Your Mother

In our egalitarian culture, how is it that many in the church still do not recognize a mother’s authority that they verbally acknowledge as belonging to the father?

I know a man who is very faithful to his family. He loves his wife sacrificially. He is a very generous provider and a rather zealous protector. He knows how to be perfectly balanced in disciplining his children, which brings us to our story.

One day, while the man was out, one of the children began to become restless. The mother quietly cautioned the child about the direction into which his behavior seemed to be heading. This apparently had no effect as the child quickly crossed the line into disobedience. After waiting a couple moments to see if the boy would correct his own misbehavior and settle down, his mother again offered a mild reprimand. She was also just beginning to explain that the other children were also becoming offended, when suddenly the disobedient child put his fingers in his ears, stuck out his tongue, turned around and walked away, all the while yelling, “La-la-la-la-la…!” After fifteen minutes or so of this, the child finally tired of yelling but still continued to antagonize those around him in not-so-subtle ways.

A half hour later, the husband and father walked through the front door, unnoticed by the rebellious child. The father quickly observed that all was not right and wasted no time chastising his son with a firm spanking and a clear reminder as to the respect and honor that the son must exercise toward his mother and the type of home that must be maintained. Immediately after this father corrected the chaos that had been growing, he called his wife aside into a private place. He then reminded her of the oneness between them in marriage, of the authority which he held, of the expectations that she exercise much of that same authority including the authority to maintain discipline, with firmness when necessary, and of the promise he’d made to be ever-present in his support of her maintaining a Godly home.

Actually, I believe his words were “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:18-20).