Being a mom is one of the hardest jobs on earth.
And although we can find instructions everywhere for being a mom, finding instructions for godly motherhood is a little bit more challenging.
Have you ever noticed that Colossians 3 leaves mom out of the Christian household?
In all the instructions given… motherhood is not mentioned?
Rules for Christian Households
Verses 18-25 puts it like this, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”
There is something for everyone in the family. Instructions for all of us. Even Mothers if we look hard enough.
Being a mom
For the wives and the husbands… wow, submitting and loving. The two go hand in hand. Both are unnatural to the one instructed to do it. Wives do not naturally submit (or respect) and Husbands do not naturally love. God knew what to command us to do because we don’t do it on our own. He wouldn’t have commanded wives to love because we do that naturally. And, He didn’t command husbands to submit or respect because men to that naturally.
As for the children… the Bible hits often on their need to obey. Being obedient to their parents. Why? It pleases the Lord! When my girls obey me, they obey God. They are learning to obey their parents and to obey God at the same time. Godly parenting is incredibly important because God is teaching our children something in the act of obedience to our parenting.
Fathers… do not embitter your kids. What does that mean? Do not frustrate them! Practice what you preach. Lead your children in the ways of God and show them daily what that looks like. Encourage them to be separate from the world and give them a safe place to fall when the world hurts.
Now, the word that is used for “fathers” here is the Greek word “pater” or plural as “pateres” which can be father and mother or parents.
Which means you could read it as “Mom and Dad, do not frustrate your children.”
Teach them to honor God in all things. Instruct them in what God’s Word says about life and shape their world view around what the Bible says. Pray for your kids. Demonstrate love and concern for your kids. Help them. Discipline them.
SO many good “being a mom” instructions for us all.
Yet, go back and reread those verses at the top of this post. When you look at the way those verses about godly households are worded, it does just say Fathers, Husbands, Wives and Children.
So, where are the instructions for mothers? What does it really tell us about being a mom?
I see it in the last part of the chapter.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”
Moms are the doers. We work, serve, clean, cook, nurse, fix, teach, correct and it is SO easy to get caught up in the doing of those things!
Here in these verses we, as moms, are reminded to do it for the Lord!
We are serving Him when we serve our family. Do not do it grudgingly or with complaint. Do it for God, with all your heart. No matter what we are asked or called to do in this job of motherhood.
I have a feeling that Paul didn’t have to say “Mothers” before that verse. We would just know it was for us.
At least, I read it for me today.
How do you see moms in that chapter?
