Many Bad Mothers

“Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her.” – Proverbs 31:28

Mothers can be very, very good, and mothers can be very, very bad. We do not want to put emphasis on the bad mothers, because by and large we believe, or like to believe, most mothers are those who sacrifice for and love the children who come from their womb. There is a God-given natural instinct to love the children you bear; and there is a powerful congenital instinct for children to love their parents, especially their mothers, who first nurture, protect, and nurse them. But the fact is there are many bad people in the world, and it is also a borne out truth that the first five years of life are critical to the stature of a person’s character for the rest of their life. Bad mothers do exist. 

This truth puts a lot of pressure on mothers who mostly are responsible for the first five years of a child’s life in fairly normal circumstances. The father plays a strong support role, but the mother is the main operator, in every culture. In some situations they may be the only operator, other than aunts, grandmothers, etc.  and the fact is that there are single mothers who do a very fine job of rearing their offspring despite the sorry father who vacated his responsibilities. Mostly, these are single mothers of faith. But the loss of a father is a very difficult burden to bear, especially when a child grows to teen years. 

What happens when a child is largely neglected? He falls into the course of his nature from birth; a depraved and fallen nature. There is no correction or instruction of what is right or wrong. Of course, all humanity has a moral compass within, known as a conscience, but if it is not reinforced by correction and instruction, the natural instincts of sin rise to the forefront and end up searing the conscience. This is why we see such heinous sin being perpetrated by younger and younger children and teens on others, even on their own parent(s). Parents who seek to protect their children from penalties of poor behavior are only serving to create a monster who will perform great evil over the course of a life which may well end prematurely.

By the way in which God created male and female it is very obvious to the faithfully observant that God has given the requisite gender tools to women who not only solely give birth, but are most able to nurture and nurse, spiritually and physically, an infant into young childhood years. Women have the God given tools which men do not. But God was not dumb in designing the child/person rearing responsibility for both one woman and one man. This is his design, and it is the perfect design which can provide the greatest opportunity for success in a very difficult proposition. If tragedy intervenes God can make provision, but his plan is for a mother and father to perform the child molding, the eternal-being-molding process. And the Scripture from Genesis on bears out this vital truth. 

The praise of godly mothers is replete throughout history. They have been in so many cases the magnificent performers of God’s call. It is a call requiring an indefatigable, all-consuming effort. From what I have observed over many years their joy in seeing their children walking in the truth has been a reward for which there is no substitute. It is worth all the many years of dirty diapers, skinned knees, spankings, helping with homework, and waiting up nights, etc, etc. Proverbs 31 says it all: “Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her.”

“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.” – 2 John 1:4