A Celebration of Womanhood

You may or may not have guessed this, but Mother's Day is actually the third most celebrated holiday in the world. Behind Christmas and Easter, Mother's Day ranks right at the top of the list, or holidays that are celebrated. I know through the years in kind of tracking church attendance, Mother's Day has often been our second highest attended service of the year behind Easter. And so it's a very important day. Did you know that Mother's Day originated in West Virginia? It certainly did. Started in the heart of Anna Jarvis, who was one of 12 children, and one of only four of those children to survive to adulthood. After her Mother's death in 1905, Miss Jarvis really dedicated the rest of her life to trying to see Mother's Day established. She invested a small fortune and she wrote hundreds of letters. She tried her very best, traveled thousands of miles to try to muster support for a National Mother's Day. On May 10th, 1908, she organized the first Mother's Day celebration at the Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. The service ran for four hours, and we certainly want to duplicate that today. Actually the service revolved around four purposes for Mother's Day. She laid it out on that day. First of all, to honor our Mother's secondly to bring families together on Mother's Day, thirdly to make us better children and fourthly to brighten the lives of good mothers, she said. Finally in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed that the second Sunday in May would be the Sunday closest to Miss Jarvis' mother's death, and that would be the day that would be honored and proclaimed as Mother's Day. Carnations were included in the festive day that Miss Jarvis started. She donated white carnations and asked people to wear a red carnation if their mother was living and a white carnation if she was dead. Many churches still follow that practice, and we ourselves did that for many years here at Johnston Chapel. We have kind of made the transition to white and milk chocolate. That's what we have done. Actually just the darker kind. I really am glad for the opportunity to honor and to help mothers. It's always a special day for me as I think about my own wife and mother, and my mother-in-law as well. Special special day. But I want the focus today to extend beyond motherhood. In the honor that we gave earlier to women, it did extend beyond those who would be technically considered mothers to all of those women who have deeply impacted our lives, whether or not God gave them the opportunity to have children of their own. So I've selected a passage this morning that celebrates womanhood, not just motherhood. It's Titus chapter 2. The passage also teaches what a good mother should be. It includes home responsibilities. It includes mothering responsibilities, but it really focuses on what a godly woman is to be. And that's what I want our focus to be this morning. Broader than just the role of motherhood, I want us to focus upon a biblical portrait of godly womanhood. So today is a celebration of womanhood. Titus chapter 2. Let's begin reading in verse 1. So we get the flow of thought here. Paul is writing to his protege, his young disciple Timothy, or Titus actually in this case, whom he has left on the island of Crete to establish churches there. And he says to him in chapter 2 verse 1, you however must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. Now our text begins in verse 3. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of god. In this wonderful passage, Paul instructs Timothy to instruct the women in his church as to what it means to be a godly woman, to be a Christ honoring woman. In so doing, he describes at least a couple of different areas of responsibility that a godly woman would have, the first of which is a spiritual responsibility. So let's see what this text has to tell us about the spiritual responsibility of women, not just of mothers, but the spiritual responsibility of all women. We're not going to take the verses word by word. We're going to pick out of them those topics that Paul deals with that focus on first of all the spiritual responsibility and then we'll look at the home responsibility. But there are basically two spiritual responsibilities. We can group them into these two categories at least. The first spiritual responsibility that women have is to be saved. Now that was not directly stated in the text, but it is implied and assumed by what Paul says. It is implied because first of all Paul is writing to a church. He's writing to the pastor of a church, Titus, whom he's left on the island of Crete, to establish the church there. And he's saying to Titus, this is what you are to teach the people in your church. And so by implication, he's talking about women who are saved, who are a part of the body of Christ, the believers gathered together in the church on Crete. But he also says that you are to teach things which are appropriate to sound doctrine. Literally adorn or dress up sound teaching or the gospel. And so he's assuming that the gospel is the foundation of everything else he's going to say. He's assuming that the people that will receive this instruction are believers that they know Jesus as their Savior. And so the assumption, the implication of the text is that the primary and first responsibility of a woman is to be saved. And by that I mean to be delivered from sin's grip, to be saved means to be delivered from hell and the judgment of God, and to be made a part of the family of God, to be given a home in heaven to live with him forever. That's what it means to be saved. Now I will go so far as to say this, you cannot be all that you were created to be as a woman until you are saved. He says, it's pretty bold statement. It is, but let me back it up with scripture. God created us, all of us, male and female in his image. That's very foundational from the first chapter of the Bible. God created us in his image. That means that we have something in us, a moral likeness to God that allows us to have a relationship with him. Trees don't have that, rocks don't have that, rivers don't have that, cats and dogs don't have that. Only people have that. God made man in his image or mankind in his image, male and female. He made them in his image. So we have the capacity to have a relationship with God. That relationship that was given and bestowed upon Adam and Eve in the garden was broken by sin in the Garden of Eden, in the third chapter of Genesis. Sin enters the human race and cuts off that relationship with God so that everybody born to the human race since the first couple, Adam and Eve have been born separated from God. Born with a nature that leans towards sin, passed down to us from our parents, goes all the way back to Adam and Eve, and so we are born into the human race separated from God. God didn't want us to remain that way, however. God didn't want that condition to stay. He loves us so much that he wanted us to be restored to him. He wanted us to be restored to that relationship, to be back in his family, to be able to have a home within forever in heaven. And so he devised a plan whereby sinful, guilty people could be forgiven of their sin and be allowed to become his children and that relationship to be restored. And the plan that he devised in his great love was to send his son Jesus, perfect, spotless, one who had enjoyed fellowship with him, father and son from an eternity past. He decided to send his son Jesus who would come to this earth, become one of us, become human, but never sin and thus be morally qualified to pay the penalty for the sins of others because he had no sin of his own to pay for. He died. That's the penalty of sin, right? The wages of sin is death. When Jesus died, he wasn't suffering his own wages because he'd never sin. And so he was perfectly qualified to be the substitute for you and me. He died for your sin and for my sin, not his own, but for hours. And so God devised this beautiful, perfect plan for us to be forgiven. And if you will place your faith in Christ, in other words, all of your confidence and trust in getting to heaven must rest upon Christ, not yourself, not anything good you may do, not the church, not your baptism, not any work that you do, not even acts of obedience or kindness, but your confidence and trust must rest upon Jesus alone, completely, holy, because that's the only way you can be saved and become a child of God. God devised this beautiful plan for you to be restored to relationship with Him and it is through faith and Christ that your sins are forgiven, your guilt is gone and you become a child of God. And that what you were made for in the image and likeness of God is now restored. You see my friend, if you've never trusted Christ, you are incomplete as a human being. So as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, you cannot be all that God intended you to be unless you are first of all saved. It is your primary, most important spiritual responsibility to be saved. And you cannot be all that you could or should be as a mother either, not just as a woman, but also as a mother because those little children that God gives you, they also are born separated from God. And for you to train them in all the ways of life, for you to make sure they know how to make their bed and eat their food properly and brush their teeth and they go to school and they get the education they need. That's wonderful. But if you leave out the spiritual component of their lives, if you yourself, because you don't know Christ, don't know how to lead them to Christ, you've missed the most important thing in their lives too. And so you cannot be either the woman or the wife or mother God intended you to be without first of all being saved without knowing Jesus as your Savior. And that's why that's where we began. That was foundational to everything Paul told Timothy to preach and Titus to preach. Foundational is to know Jesus as Savior. That is your first, your primary, your most important spiritual responsibility. But then he gives another spiritual responsibility. Actually, a number of character qualities that could be kind of listed under this one heading. And that is not only should you be saved, you also need to be a godly example. Spiritual responsibility of a woman is to be saved, but also to be a godly example. And what Paul does is he lists for Titus several things that he is to teach the older women to be and to model for the younger women in the church at Crete. Notice this list, first of all, verse three. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live. What does it mean to be reverent? It literally means to be holy. And to be holy means to be set apart from something and to something else. The word holy literally means to be set apart. It can be used a number of ways in the scriptures. But the idea is you are set apart, you are separate from something. You are set apart as a woman from a sin, from the guilt and the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin in your life. You are set apart from the way of this world. And it is allure and it is pull on you to go a direction that god doesn't want you to go. You are set apart from that and you are set apart to god. You are committed to him. You are committed to obeying and following Christ. That is what it means to be holy. To be set apart from sin and set apart to the Lord. That is a holy lifestyle. And Paul tells Titus teach the women in the church this that they should be reverent or holy in the way they live. But notice another character quality here that fits under a godly example. Not to be slanderers. What is a slanderer? It is interesting that the word for slander is the word literally for devil in the New Testament. To slander, the word we typically use is gossip. It literally means to repeat vicious and unfounded things you hear about someone else. When you hear something about someone else, if you are a godly woman, your desire will be, first of all, either just let it die there or if it causes you concern to go to the person that it is about and address them. Not to spread it. To spread unfounded or destructive or vicious talk about anyone else. That is devilish. That is slanderous. And the Bible says a godly woman will not be a slanderer. Third characteristic. Not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine. Now be careful with that one. It almost sounds like you could be addicted to a little bit of wine. That is not Paul's point, however. Wine was the common table drink of New Testament times because the water quality was so poor. Wine was mixed with the water basically to kill the impurities in the water. The fermentation process of the wine purified the water. And so it was what you might say of water down form of what you would think of as wine today. Not quite the same thing. But still, if you were abusive with it, you could become addicted. You could become inebriated. And so Paul warns against the unwise use of wine or we might extend that to mean anything in our lives by way of personal habits that becomes addictive. That becomes consuming. That takes over. That you cannot do without any addictive behavior. Basically is what Paul is addressing. A godly woman will not lean toward addictive behavior. Now if you have been there, if you are there now, there are wonderful ways to help with that. Let me put in a little plug here for celebrate recovery. We have a wonderful ministry here at Johnston Chapel that is flourishing and growing. Thank God for those of you who are involved and lead that good ministry called celebrate recovery. It's for a wide variety of habits and hang ups and hurts that you've had from the past. But it does focus upon those who have been trapped by addictions or who have addictive behavior patterns in their lives. Whatever it may be. Not just alcohol and drugs, whatever kind of addictive behavior it might be. There's help for you if you struggle with this. And I don't want to heap shame or guilt on you this morning. There's way to get help. And we would encourage you to come on Thursday nights and make sure that you're a part of that ministry. If that ministry would be a blessing to you. You have questions about it. See pastor Simmons when he gets back from France. He'll be able to tell you all about that. And others here in the church who work with that good ministry. And then Paul goes on. He says, Titus, teach them not only to be holy, not slanderers, not involved in addictive behavior, but also teach what is good. By the way, the word teach itself carries another character quality. It's the word for sound judgment. It's not the normal word for teach. It's the word which literally has the idea of sound judgment. A word which means to be wise in the way you manage the practical affairs of life, to be sound in your judgment. So that's a character quality in itself. That's what it means to be good to practice sound judgment. And a godly woman will seek to practice that kind of sound judgment and carrying out all of the the things that go along with life, living. Here's another character quality. In verse 5, to be self-controlled. The idea of the ability to show restraint. Restraint in what you say and restraint in what you do. To be self-controlled means that you are not impulsive, that you do not say or do the first thing that comes to mind. If you're like me, you know that when you say the first thing that comes to mind, more often than not, you regret having said that. When you act impulsively, you just react to things that happen more often than not. It would not be the wisest course of action. The wiser course of action is to think, to restrain yourself, maybe even to pray, and then act or speak. Easier said than done, right? Paul says a godly woman tightest, be sure that godly women understand to be self-controlled. And then notice the next one. And pure, he says, pure. What does that mean? It literally means moral or sexual purity. But moral purity, sexual purity begins in the heart and in the mind. The Bible makes that very clear, especially in the book of Proverbs. Guard your heart, guard your mind for out of it are the issues of life. It is the wellspring of life. Everything comes from the heart and the mind. Those two are very, very close, almost synonymous in the scriptures. So in order to be pure, in order to be chased, or to be morally, sexually pure, the Bible basically is saying here, be careful about the input you get into your mind and your heart. Because what you take into your mind will form your character. And if it is impure, you cannot be pure in your character. So can we back up that step and say that it is highly critical here for women to make sure that the input they are putting into their brains, what you are putting into your brain needs to be that which will contribute to purity and not immorality. So be careful about the television programs you watch, the movies you go to, the magazines you read, the novels you read, impurity in the heart and mind will filter through the character. It will develop your character. Because as Jesus said, some man thinks in his heart so is he. As a woman thinks in her heart, so is she. I cannot imagine that a person who watches a continual diet of soap operas, or of daytime talk TV, or many of the nighttime sitcoms, or movies that are full of filth and immorality, or magazines that cater to the baser, immoral instincts of life, or the kind of secular romance novels that are so popular today, I cannot imagine anyone who fills their minds with that being able to be pure in their lives. The two do not fit together. So women be careful. I know we talk a lot about pornography. Maybe we don't talk about it as much as we should. But when we talk about pornography, we often think just of men, right? Because that's typically what pornography means. But there are two different kinds of pornography. One directed to men, one directed to women. And those purveyors of pornography know how to reach the heart and the instincts of both genders. For men it is through the eye gate. For women it is through the mind and the appeal to affection. And so a romance novel that glorifies immorality is just as dangerous for you ladies as pornography on the internet is for men. And it is just as addictive. So women be careful. Be careful. What you allow into your minds, make sure that it contributes to purity and not tearing you away from that standard. There's one other character quality that would be listed under this godly example category. And it is in verse five to be kind. To be kind. What a beautiful word. It means to be charitable, to be helpful, to have conduct that is good and warm and inviting toward other people kind. A godly woman strives to be that kind of person. There it is ladies. The spiritual responsibility of a woman is first of all to be saved, secondly to be a godly example. And that's a pretty good list of things to work on, isn't it? In the character of a godly woman. But then Paul also addresses, through Titus to the church of Crete, he also addresses the home responsibility of a woman. And he tells her about four things that she needs to think about in order to fulfill the domestic responsibilities of a woman, the home responsibilities of a woman. First of all, he says, love your husband. In order to be a proper homemaker to fulfill domestic responsibilities, a woman needs to love her husband. You see it there in verse four. He's addressing again the older women. And he says, then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands. Now it's an interesting concept. Many have pointed out this is the only time in the Bible that the Bible specifically addresses a woman or commands a woman to love her husband. Numerous times it says that for a man, at least several times. The only case where it directly commands a woman to love her husband, and it uses a different word than the word used for a man's love. We'll talk about how man should love his wife in a moment. But the word's different here. It's a word that used of a fondness, a friendship kind of love, an affectionate kind of love. It means to be warm and affectionate toward, has the idea of compassion with it and companionship. It's that that warm and affectionate, caring, loving expression of a wife that is commanded for women in regard to their husbands here. And notice, he says the older women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands in this way. To be affectionate and warm and inviting to them. If as an older woman, the only thing you ever teach your daughters or granddaughters is, okay, I'll teach you how to iron and cook and clean house and all of those things. And you just kind of have to put up with the physical stuff and married your husband. You have to put up with that. I've heard that so many times that goes directly contrary to what the Bible teaches. The Bible is saying here that your responsibility as older women is to teach the younger women to have that fond, warm, caring, affectionate love toward your husband and guard his heart through that kind of affection so that it will not stray. Now obviously some men's hearts are so perverted they stray anyway. So I do not mean to suggest that if your husband has left you, it's your fault. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. But in a godly marriage, a husband will sacrifice whatever for his wife, that's his kind of love. And a wife should respond with affection and warm caring for her husband. Love your husband, he says. But then notice he also says the same thing about children. He groups them together. He says teach the younger women to love their husbands and children. And it's the same word obviously, same kind of love to both. So it's that it's that warm affectionate, caring kind of love that should go for children as well. Now I will admit sometimes that has to be a challenge to be warm and caring and loving toward children. Sometimes you just got to love them, right? I mean you just got to love them as best you can. I read about one little boy who was so eager to let his mom know how much she loved her on Mother's Day and all he wanted to do for her, he said, Mama, when I grow up, I'm going to buy you an electric can opener, an electric toaster, an electric stove, and an electric chair. You just got to love them, don't you? Sometimes. Could I take just a few moments to repeat and please pardon this mobs, ladies and mobs? Just repeat a few things I shared with the mobs a couple of weeks ago about loving your children. How do you love your children with this nurturing, warm affectionate, motherly kind of love? There are a number of ways and by the way, I won't take the time, but all of these are based on God's love for us and you can find them directly expressed in Scripture. But you love your children first of all by telling them you love them. Make sure you communicate that regularly, that your children know from you, that you love them. You tell them then you communicate love by listening to them, not by repeating their statements and finishing their thoughts and correcting them before they have a chance to even explain what happened. Listen, listen to them and you communicate that caring by listening, by physical contact, oh how kids need appropriate caring affectionate physical contact from mother and father, but today from mother, you show your children, you love them by focusing on them, focused attention. Sometimes the only time we focus directly on our children is when we want something from them, when we're correcting them and how do we do that? What do we communicate to them? We say, now look at me, look me in the eyes, listen to what I'm saying and we want their full attention. Do you ever say to them, okay, now look me in the eyes, I want you to hear something, I love you. I want you to know that. You show love to your children by forgiving them. Don't be the kind of mother that always reminds them of their failures. Forgive them, forgive them. Even when they become adults. You show your love by respecting them. You show your love by disciplining them. The Bible teaches very clearly in the book of Proverbs, if you don't discipline your children, you don't love them. God disciplines everyone. He loves, Hebrews 12 says, and we should do the same, but you also show that you love your children by spending time with them. Someone has so well said that love in a family is spelled, T-I-M-E. I read this mother's prayer. I did not read this book. It comes out of chicken soup for the mother's soul. But I want you to understand, I don't sit around and read those kind of books, but I did read this quote from a book. A mother's prayer, forgive me, Lord, for all the tasks that went undone today. But this morning when my child totalled in and said, Mommy, play, I simply had to say yes. And between the puzzles and trucks and blocks and dolls and old hats and books and giggles, we shared a thousand special thoughts, a hundred hopes and dreams and hugs. And tonight, when prayer time came and he folded his hands and softly whispered, thank you, God, for Mommy and daddy and toys and French fries, but especially for Mommy playing. I knew it was a day well wasted and I knew you'd understand. Sometimes there are some other things you have to let go. If you're OCD, it will be a great crisis for you, but sometimes you've got to let some things go and focus on those little kids. Spend time with your children, moms. And I think God has naturally placed that kind of mothering, nurturing, caring, affectionate instinct into the heart of women. I think we would all recognize that's part of what we associate in our minds with the very term mother is that natural reaching out in love and caring and affection. I read a piece in Reader's Digest one time about some research that was actually done on Halloween of all things and they were comparing how if parents accompany their kids as they go trick or treating, the difference in how men approach that and how women approach that. And for one thing they said men will often take their children to more homes because we're achievement oriented. I think we can do 60 homes tonight. Come on, let's go for 60. I think we can do 65. Come on, let's get, you know, we're achievement oriented like that. But the thing that intrigued me the most was what they said most men and women will say. They said the main topic for a woman in when she takes her children trick or treating is be sure and mind your manners. Say thank you and be careful. And you know what a man's most common statement is? What'd you get? You see I think women just have this normal mothering instinct. Allow that to flourish ladies. Be affectionately warm and loving not only for your husbands but also to your children. And then he gives a third responsibility for home life for mothers and that is be submissive to your husbands. I can feel the tension in the room right now. But look at it. Verse 4, then they can urge the young women to love their husbands and children to be self-controlled and pure to be busy at home to be kind. Here it is and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God. Now I certainly understand believe me. I know not from my own home experience but from what I hear. There is a very powerful Christian feminist movement today. And many churches are being affected by it. That does not like to hear texts like this. In fact it is so strong that they have begun to reinterpret texts like this. Even go so far as to say that Paul was just speaking out of his own kind of show vanistic background and his own culture of putting women down. Well let me say something about that. This is the word of God. This is not some man's feeling and thoughts just kind of dovetailing with his own culture and putting women down. This is God's word. This comes from God. And so there are only two reasons that I can think of why a woman would resist what this text says about being submissive to your husbands. One reason is you have swallowed the twisted view of our culture concerning this because our culture certainly does not understand this nor accept God's authority on it. And so they twisted it to mean something that the Bible never intended it to mean that this is some kind of put down of women. They're on a lower level and that is not at all what the scriptures teach. But typically the culture at large interprets it that way. And so they say if you believe that old stuff about women you don't know anything about where we are today. We've come a long way baby. We are equal, right? Would you know that even the biblical concept of submission preserves that equality? Because submission in the Bible to a woman's husband is not slavery. It does not mean that mom necessarily stays home all day and when her husband comes home he props back in his easy chair and she serves him brings him everything. It's not slavery. It's not silence. It does not mean that a woman sits in the corner folds her hands, meekly nods her head at everything her husband says. Oh, you're so brilliant. Yes, dear. It doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean that. In fact, the very word that is used at times of a woman managing her home means she has some responsibility to lead. So it's not it's not silence. It is not inferiority. It does not mean that a woman is unequal to a man in any sense of the word. In fact, the Bible example that is used in 1 Corinthians 11 is the Trinity. Look it up sometime. I don't have it on the screen or anything for you, but the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11 that God is the head of Christ. Christ is the head of the man. The man is the head of the woman speaking of the home relationship and the church relationship, by the way, particularly in 1 Corinthians 11. But that headship and submission in the home is equaled to that in the Trinity. The father is the head of Christ. Now, we know if you know anything about your theology, you know that the father and Christ are equal. They are completely equal in all aspects of personhood and nature and characteristics and attributes. They're equal. But in order for the plan of redemption to be accomplished, the Son willingly submitted himself to the father's will and the father's plan and carried out the plan of redemption. In order for the home to function as God intended it to, God intended there be a leadership role and a helping role. It's clear from creation, Paul says in 1 Timothy 2. It's clear from creation. That's the order that was established. And God gave the leadership role to the husband and he gave the helper role to the wife. Remember the word that used in Genesis 2 when the woman was created? She was created to be a helper suited to his knees. The old King James word is help meet. It's literally two words. A help that was meet for him or fitted for him that complimented him. A helper that complimented him and his leadership role. And so a woman is to be a helper to her husband as he leads the home. It does not mean any of those things the culture says it means about putting women down and giving them a lower estate and means they can't do this or they can't do that or they're inferior or unqualified or it doesn't mean any of that. It simply means that God has designed the home for there to be a leadership role occupied by the husband and for the wife to help him in his leadership role but to yield to that leadership role. Now here's the beautiful thing. God intended for a man to exercise that leadership role like Christ does for the church. That's clear in Ephesians 5. So that we are to love our wives with a self sacrificing kind of love. A love that says here's the way I will lead you. I will lead you based on your interests, based on your needs, based on what's best for you, not what's best for me. That's self-sacrificial kind of love and leadership. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to be submissive to that kind of leadership? That works out best for you ladies. If men do that right. I realize there are all kinds of abuses of that both of those roles. Men have a tendency to abuse their role just like some women do but when it works like God designed it it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing and fulfills both parties involved. So that's one reason why some women don't like this because they've swallowed the culture's misrepresentation of this. A second reason. The only other reason I can think a woman would resist this is because she's resisting the authority of God. Remember this is God's word. This is not some man's thoughts. This is God's word. So you need to do a gut check this morning, ladies. If you're involved in this Christian feminist kind of deal where you're saying the traditional roles or passe out of date you need to do a gut check as to what your authority is. Who are you listening to? Is your authority Dr. Phil or Oprah or Red Book magazine or People magazine or Time or Reader's Digest or Politicians? Who's your authority? Any of those or is it God? You think about that. Submissive to your husband and then finally he says to manage the household you see it there in verse 5 to be busy at home. Now the King James says to be keepers at home and some men have interpreted that to mean to keep her at home and that's not necessarily what it's talking about. This passage has been used so many times to say a woman should never work outside the home and that's not what it's saying. It's not what first Timothy 5 is saying either when Paul addresses much the same thing in first Timothy 5 verse 14 when he says to women something about managing the household. In both of those texts the context is focus on your home not on being in fact he says it in first Timothy don't be a busy body in other people's matters. Keep your nose out of other people's business focus on your own home. You got enough to keep you busy there. Your primary responsibility even if you do work outside the home and that's not that's there's nothing wrong with that but your primary responsibility is to keep your home. Take care of your home. Someone added up all the money that would be paid to a mother if she were paid the equivalent of all the roles that she pays placed in the workplace. Sylvia Porter who as a noted financial analyst did the homework on that so she added up what would be paid to a housekeeper a cook a dishwasher a laundry a food buyer a chauffeur a gardener a maintenance person a seamstress a dietician a practical nurse a coach a teacher an interior decorator a religious educator and a child psychologist and it came to six figures that's a mother's worth. A mother's worth and obviously much more than that. Let me close with this our time's up. We've talked a lot about a responsibility of a mother and a wife and a woman your spiritual responsibility your home responsibility but we have responsibilities as men and children to our wives and mothers and they're basically this for you husbands for us husbands our responsibility is to love and to honor to love our wives and to honor them if he's in five three times says to love your wives first Peter three seven says to treat your wife with respect with respect honor her and so the way you treat her the way you speak to her the way you speak about her should be loving and respectful and honoring that's our responsibility to our wives children your responsibility to mom is to obey and honor obey and honor you know the verses in Ephesians six children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right obey your parents the word literally means to hear under to listen to as under their authority and then to honor children honor your parents in the Lord for this is the first commandment with a promise he says so we're to honor our parents and by the way we may get old enough to where we finally leave our home and we're no longer under the correction and direct authority of our parents and so we no longer are under that command to obey them necessarily but we never never outgrow the command to honor our parents to honor our mothers and so however old you are honor honor your mother treat her with respect with kindness with honor let's pray together