Introduction: Being a mother isn’t easy, and anyone who thinks it is... probably has never been a mother. Erma Bombeck in her book, "Motherhood the second Oldest Profession" writes; "I have always felt that too much time was given before birth, which is spent learning things like how to breathe in and out with your husband (I had my baby when they gave you a shot in the hip and you didn’t wake up until the child was ready to start school), and not enough time is given to how to mother after the baby is born.

Motherhood is an art. And it is naive to send a mother into the arena for 20 years with a child and expect her to come out on top. Everything is in the child’s favor. He’s little, he’s cute and he can turn tears on and off like a faucet. There have always been schools for children. They spend anywhere from 12-16 years of their lives in them, around other children who share the experiences of being a child and how to combat it. They’re in an academic atmosphere where they learn how to manipulate parents and get what they want from them. They bind together to form a children’s network, where they pool ideas on how to get the car, how to get bigger allowances, and how to stay home when the parents go on vacation. Their influence is felt around the world. Without contributing a dime, they have more ice cream parlors, recreation centers, playgrounds, and amusement parks than any grownup could ever pull off. They never pay full price for anything. How do they do it?
They’re clever and they’re educated. Some people think mothers should organize and form a union. I think education is the answer. If we only knew what to do and how to do it, we could survive."

Erma goes on to say that she is one of the luckier moms whom came into motherhood with some experience.
"I owned a Yorkshire Terrier for 3 years. At 10 months, my children could stay and heel. At a year, they could catch a Frisbee in their teeth in mid air. At 15 months after weeks of rubbing their noses in it and putting them outside, they were paper trained."

Now this is not your usual Mother’s Day text so please pay close attention. I can safely say that while I have admired this story I have never attempted a sermon from this text. It is one that on the surface is one of the more uncomfortable in the Old Testament. While the essence of the story seems offensive to our sensibilities it never the less expresses the wisdom of Solomon and the true nature of motherhood. The story takes place early in Solomon’s reign as king following the death of his father David. He has sought God for really only one thing and that is the wisdom to rule the people wisely and fairly. Solomon said, "So give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Thine?"(1 Kings 3:9)

God’s response was quick and clear, " And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. ‘And I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. ‘And if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.’" (1 Kings 3:10-14)

Almost immediately Solomon’s wisdom is tested in a way that seems to have no good answer. The situation was that two prostitutes come before Solomon because one of their infant children has been smothered. One mother claims the living child is hers and the other says it is theirs. The way it was discovered borders on the pathetic elements of the story. While she slept the mother of the dead child has switched the babies! Now they bring their case to Solomon for his decision. The woman who had made the switch is seen to be even more devious because she imagines that she will be able to carry her charade into the court.

Solomon listens to the arguments turning one way and then the other to hear the pleas of both sides. Then in a clear example of the kind of wisdom that only God could give he makes a bold decision. He calls for a swordsman to sever the living child and give one half to one mother and one half to the other. The response of the true mother was, " Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, ‘Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.’ But the other said, ‘He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!’" The Hebrew language is very descriptive her for it means that the true mother’s womb was stirred. Seeing her child about to be killed could only cause her to give up anything to see the child saved, even if that meant losing her right as a mother. She was forced to choose between motherhood and life itself. Solomon immediately has received the response he desired. Only the real mother would give up anything to save the life of the child.

This is a classic Bible story and a classic example of the love of a mother. But do you know what one of the problems is with classic Bible stories? We often learn the primary lesson and fail to see the rest of the story. This incident is used of God to show He had given Solomon the wisdom he had requested as king. It proves that wisdom comes from God. The story also provides MORALS OF MOTHERHOOD from an unlikely source.

I. The first moral of motherhood from this story is that THERE ARE NO PERFECT MOTHERS.
I do not say this to drag mothers down but to build them up. No one needs to be treated with more tenderness than our mother. Perhaps no one is more caring and conscientious than our mother. Sometimes we are too hard on them. Sometimes they are too hard on themselves.

The two mothers in this story were prostitutes! Their babies were evidently conceived under sinful circumstances. That grabs you! It makes you sit up in your church pew and take notice! Why did Solomon, king over God’s chosen people, even take the time to worry with two prostitutes? These women, and the sinful men who paid for their services, were living out of God’s will. Why did he care? Solomon cared because his action toward these to women was an indication of how God valued all human life. Even in spite of their vile and sinful lifestyle they were treated equally and fairly.

I don’t have to convince you that the church should stand for moral purity. But the church should also stand for forgiveness and restoration! These women were not living up to God’s ideals - yet He still loved them! Some of Jesus’ most dramatic encounters were with women that his culture said were off limits for God’s help. If any of us had to wait for God to love us based on our performance we would all be out of luck!

No, there is no such thing as a perfect mother, just like there aren’t any perfect people among the rest of us. Often-Christian parenting is presented with such high standards and lofty goals that we feel if we don’t meet the standard then we must be bad parents. The truth is that the parent who is struggling may be the best parent because they are the most dependent! If there’s anyone in whom we should be willing to overlook faults, it should be our mother. Why? Because they’ve overlooked so many of our faults. As I reflected on my own mother’s life recently after her death a person’s life doesn’t have to be perfect to be good. My mother wasn’t perfect and neither was my father. Were they good? Absolutely!

We need to lighten up on mom a little, and moms need to lighten up on themselves a little. Billy Graham says his favorite story is of a husband who was not very attentive to his wife. But one day he started feeling guilty about that, and decided to change. So on his way home from work he bought a box of candy and some flowers to surprise his wife.

He walks up to the door and rings the doorbell. She opens it, & there he stands, candy in one hand, flowers in the other, singing, "I love you truly, truly, Dear." Instantly she starts crying, big old tears just gushing out of her eyes. She sobs, "Oh, Harry! Everything went wrong today. We had a leak in the plumbing. The kids were terrible. The house is a wreck. And now you come home drunk!"

Moms need to laugh and have a good time. And just in case they don’t, find something to smile about and make it a regular habit. Remember there has never been a perfect mother or father and only one perfect Son. Life is too short and God is too good to go around trying to achieve perfection.

II. Here’s another moral of motherhood from out story: GOD HAS ANSWERS FOR A MOTHER’S PROBLEMS. Don’t look for stress-free motherhood it doesn’t exist. From the pains of giving birth, to the empty nest, to grandchildren and beyond, motherhood is stressful and most often unappreciated. Once again, this is not mentioned to discourage anyone. There is good news! God is willing and able to assist moms in the problems they encounter.

God didn’t give Solomon wisdom so folks would stand around the palace and say "ooh" and "ahh". He gave His wisdom for a purpose. God not only loved those two prostitute mothers, He also loved the little baby in this story. God dispatched His wisdom to Solomon to save the child.

He has wisdom to spare for parenting responsibilities today. He can guide and provide for mothers in all kinds of life situations - single moms, adoptive moms, step-moms, moms with special situations, you name it! Kids today have special needs. That’s okay. God has the wisdom to give you for the task. He can teach you what to do and what to say in every situation. The writer of Proverbs 31 says of the wisdom a woman of virtue possesses, "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule when she gives instructions." (Proverbs 31:25-26)

Like the mom who was tucking her small boy into bed one summer night during a violent thunderstorm. She was just about to turn out the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?" The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can’t, Dear," she said, "I have to sleep with your daddy." A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: "The big sissy."

III. Here’s the third and final moral for mothers from this story: THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A MOTHER’S LOVE! The real mother in this story would rather see another woman raise her child than see it split in two. You have to be willing to give up some things to be a good mother. Personal sacrifice is a pivotal part of motherhood. It begins by sacrificing their own bodies by carrying the child around in their womb for nine months. No mother’s child ought to get over that sacrifice! Our mothers fed us, nourished and protected us with their own bodies before we even saw the light of day. I don’t know anyone else who loves me enough to carry me around for nine months. But a mother’s sacrifice doesn’t end there. They keep on giving. They give up sleep for the midnight feedings. They give up personal goals to help their children achieve their goals.

Ask yourself how many times you got a new outfit or clothes growing up and mom wore the same old clothes, or how many times she gave you the last helping at supper. We honor moms for all the giving they do. They remind us of God who is sacfricial and giving. He gave His only Son for a world of wayward children.

Quarreling between her two sons prompted a mother to rush to the kitchen. Her eight year old and four year old were having a tug of war with the cookie jar. Only one cookie remained in the jar, and each boy thought it was his. Taking the cookie jar from the two youngsters, their mother calmly announced in Solomon like fashion, "I'll solve the problem for you. I'll eat the last cookie myself." The boys looked up at their mother in unbelief. Then the four year old, with a mischievous grin on his face said, "Oh, no you won't, Mom. Whoever heard of a selfish mother?"

The example of the sacrifice of a mothers love found in our text reminds me of a similar story. On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 225 crashed just after taking off from the Detroit airport, killing 155 people. One survived: a four-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, named Cecelia. News accounts say when rescuers found Cecelia they did not believe she had been on the plane. Investigators first assumed Cecelia had been a passenger in one of the cars on the highway onto which the airliner crashed. But when the passenger register for the flight was checked, there was Cecelia's name. Cecelia survived because, even as the plane was falling, Cecelia's mother, Paula Chican, unbuckled her own seat belt, got down on her knees in front of her daughter, wrapped her arms and body around Cecelia, and then would not let her go. Nothing could separate that child from her mother's love—neither tragedy nor disaster, neither the fall nor the flames that followed, neither height nor depth, neither life nor death. That kind of love should not go unnoticed and unappreciated. Respond to moms with great love and appreciation. And respond to the God who created motherhood the same way.

Conclusion: Mom’s there are no perfect mom’s. The problem’s you face can be aided by God’s wisdom and the love you have for others is unlike any but God’s.

Folks, Mother’s Day is kind of a mixed bag. I always come to it with a bit of fear and trembling. I’m never sure exactly how to handle it because I know that there are all kinds of different people who will be present. If you have experienced the death of your mother, this could be a day of mourning and grieving as you remember her, and how much you miss her, & how much you would like to talk to her again. If you’re childless, you may feel empty and perhaps unfilled. If you had a poor relationship with your mother, you may feel a bit guilty, and wish somehow you could undo that. But it may be too late.

But here’s the good news: We may have imperfect families here, but one day we’ll have a perfect family in heaven - with God as our Father, and Jesus, our elder brother. We’ll live in a perfect environment with all His who have gone on before.

I read a story recently about a man, Edgar, age fifty-three who is an example of an adult orphan who retains an abiding and altogether realistic picture of his deceased parents, and who counts himself as "one of the lucky ones." He says, "I spent a lot of years running down blind alleys, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I must have changed careers a dozen times. But my parents were always there to encourage me, even if they failed at times to give me the criticism I needed. Still, I never doubted their belief in me, and they never had a problem saying ‘I’m sorry’ when they messed up. Recently, I had a dream abut them—in the dream, they walk into my living room, look at me, smile, and say, ‘You did good.’ It gives me the courage to figure out where I’ve screwed up and where I have some lessons to learn. If they were alive today, I’d only have one thing to say to them: ‘Thank you.’"

Sunday, May 13, 2001

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org