I had been reading some different stuff people mentioning about their mothers, how their mothers affected them and all. So some things came to me about my own.
My mother wasn’t a Christian until the very end of her life, so her perspective on most things was waay off, or just off. Aside from dragging me into New Age stuff, bombarding me with prejudiced lies everyday, trying to set me up to worship the false gods of reputation & education, indirectly showing me the example that money is more important than people (including family), that selfishness being rude & stepping over people were good things… and many more lies & half truths… She did teach me a handful of good & true things, which I do hold on to.
These are:
1. Work Hard, don’t give up. The Bible in Proverbs is filled with verses talking about how “in all labor there is profit“, the lazy person doesn’t get anything but weeds & thorns. Nobody dropped anything into her lap, yet she got most of what she wanted.
Not only did my mother tell me this constantly, but she also lived it out. Unfortunately I believe she made some wrong sacrifices on her altars (like career over family). Generally speaking though, it’s a good principle and one I do try to remember & try to teach my kids.
2. You can’t trust others and can’t depend on anybody. It sounds harsh but really, where does it say in the Bible we are supposed to do the opposite.? We are only to depend on God, and to trust Him for everything.
Anything else is psychobabble, including Christian psychobabble.
3. You have to think for yourself. This one is almost totally true. You need to look into things for yourself and not just believe what whoever is telling you. Yet, this alone isn’t enough, because we can miss something or deceive ourselves. The complete answer is to then check things by the Bible, if what you are thinking/believe is really true or not. The heart in this that we have to decide to serve Jesus, out of our own- of our own free will choice. This I did, not because of someone else’s pressure or influence, not just because that is “what I was taught” I considered things- looked into the Bible for myself and made the choice out of my own thought and will (and through the influence of the Holy Spirit).
4. Honor the elderly. My mother always said this, not always practiced it. I saw it was a good lesson though, and one that the Bible teaches as well. So I tried to give the elderly my seats (even as a teen) try to go easier on them etc..
5. Enjoy learning. Learning isn’t just something you do during “school hours”, it isn’t just something coming from a teacher or a book- it is these things and more. It doesn’t need to be tedious, it can be enjoyable
6. My mother was into health food, natural & organic, alternative medicine, vitamins- before it was cool & the “in thing” to do. I can remember this stuff all the way back to when I was small. I learned to like healthy foods like veggies. Unfortunately, also like my mother I’ve gone back and forth between this and eating junk food (mostly to save money). Ha, I pray over everything and trust God for His grace.
I think these things are usually generally good things, but I think some people can become obsessed with the whole health/organic thing- I don’t think Christians need to go that far. It says in the Bible that everything is good, if it received w/ the word of God, thanksgiving and prayer.
7. Along those same lines, Growing up I didn’t see my mother (or my family in general) running to a doctor or the medicine cabinet for every little ache and pain. The strongest stuff we had in the cabinet was aspirin. I don’t even remember my mom even taking Tylenol. Good principle, the doctor is no Savior, and God is our healer- we need to trust in him and look to Him first and foremost.
My mother wasn’t a Christian until the very end of her life, so her perspective on most things was waay off, or just off. Aside from dragging me into New Age stuff, bombarding me with prejudiced lies everyday, trying to set me up to worship the false gods of reputation & education, indirectly showing me the example that money is more important than people (including family), that selfishness being rude & stepping over people were good things… and many more lies & half truths… She did teach me a handful of good & true things, which I do hold on to.
These are:
1. Work Hard, don’t give up. The Bible in Proverbs is filled with verses talking about how “in all labor there is profit“, the lazy person doesn’t get anything but weeds & thorns. Nobody dropped anything into her lap, yet she got most of what she wanted.
Not only did my mother tell me this constantly, but she also lived it out. Unfortunately I believe she made some wrong sacrifices on her altars (like career over family). Generally speaking though, it’s a good principle and one I do try to remember & try to teach my kids.
2. You can’t trust others and can’t depend on anybody. It sounds harsh but really, where does it say in the Bible we are supposed to do the opposite.? We are only to depend on God, and to trust Him for everything.
Anything else is psychobabble, including Christian psychobabble.
3. You have to think for yourself. This one is almost totally true. You need to look into things for yourself and not just believe what whoever is telling you. Yet, this alone isn’t enough, because we can miss something or deceive ourselves. The complete answer is to then check things by the Bible, if what you are thinking/believe is really true or not. The heart in this that we have to decide to serve Jesus, out of our own- of our own free will choice. This I did, not because of someone else’s pressure or influence, not just because that is “what I was taught” I considered things- looked into the Bible for myself and made the choice out of my own thought and will (and through the influence of the Holy Spirit).
4. Honor the elderly. My mother always said this, not always practiced it. I saw it was a good lesson though, and one that the Bible teaches as well. So I tried to give the elderly my seats (even as a teen) try to go easier on them etc..
5. Enjoy learning. Learning isn’t just something you do during “school hours”, it isn’t just something coming from a teacher or a book- it is these things and more. It doesn’t need to be tedious, it can be enjoyable
6. My mother was into health food, natural & organic, alternative medicine, vitamins- before it was cool & the “in thing” to do. I can remember this stuff all the way back to when I was small. I learned to like healthy foods like veggies. Unfortunately, also like my mother I’ve gone back and forth between this and eating junk food (mostly to save money). Ha, I pray over everything and trust God for His grace.
I think these things are usually generally good things, but I think some people can become obsessed with the whole health/organic thing- I don’t think Christians need to go that far. It says in the Bible that everything is good, if it received w/ the word of God, thanksgiving and prayer.
7. Along those same lines, Growing up I didn’t see my mother (or my family in general) running to a doctor or the medicine cabinet for every little ache and pain. The strongest stuff we had in the cabinet was aspirin. I don’t even remember my mom even taking Tylenol. Good principle, the doctor is no Savior, and God is our healer- we need to trust in him and look to Him first and foremost.