THE TEST OF MOTHERHOOD.
QUESTION: Are You A Mother-In-Israel?
Village life ceased,
it ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Arose a mother in Israel.(Judg.5:7)
When we look at the life of Deborah who made the above statement, she was so many things rolled into one. She was a mother, not only to her children but the mother of Israel at that particular time. She doubled as a warrior. In fact, even the brave men of her generation could not go to war without her (Jud.4:7). The pastor’s wife should be a replica of Deborah. So, one of the tests that you should pass is the test of motherhood. Will you be a mother in Israel? The church is a mini Israel with your biological and more of spiritual children. As a mother to all of them, you must be a role model. A model should be able to say, ‘do as I do’. The entire church often looks unto you to lead the way in so many things. Will you demonstrate motherhood to them? Remember, motherhood in the kingdom is not about age, it is a position that has been bestowed upon you as a result of being the wife of the pastor. The scripture did not tell us that Deborah was an old woman. Despite not being old, she was a mother in Israel. Following are some of the areas you must pay attention to if you aspire to be a mother in Israel:
Your Relationship With God.
As a mother in Israel, you are expected to model sincerity in your relationship with God. When you preach something to others, whether your biological or spiritual children, and you are not found doing it, then you are nothing but a hypocrite. If you are not a role model in your relationship with your God, you are likely to breed children that will rebel against God later.
Your Home.
As a mother, you will be able to model a lot of godly virtues to your children through your marriage. How do you relate with your spouse? What are your expressed views about the sanctity of marriage? When there is conflict in member’s homes, how do you handle it? As a mother to the women in the ministry, how do you encourage them to relate with their husbands? Don’t forget that as a mother, your children, both biological and spiritual, will learn a lot concerning their homes through their interactions with you.
Your Attitude To Money.
You may successfully model your belief about money to your biological and spiritual children through the way you handle money and conduct your financial engagements. If you are ready to tell lies, cheat and commit fraud in the course of looking for money, you are only modelling to them that there is nothing wrong with doing anything to make money. If you display inappropriate attitudes about money, your children will perfect it beyond your own level in the future.
Your Relationships.
The value you place on people will be revealed through the way you relate with them. Do you just make use of people, only to discard them later? If you are such a person, you are modelling lack of appreciation of the helpers of their lives. You may discover that one or more of them will actually go beyond your own level by discarding even their spouses in the future.
Your Handling Of Disappointments And Success.
Your life can be used to model to your children that it is only God that will never disappoint them. As for human beings, they should not be surprised if someone they trusted so much ended up disappointing them. Make them to realize that it is in the nature of human beings to disappoint. If they have that mindset, they will not be too hurt when disappointment comes. Model to them too, that their joy should not be dependent on what another human being does. If they do, they will be grossly disappointed and hurt.
…“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,…(Jer.17:5)
Teach them through your own life too, how to handle success. Let them know through your life that it is by the mercy of God that success ultimately comes:
…“I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
(Rom.9:15-16)
Your Attitude To Work.
As a mother, let your children notice your aversion to laziness through your conduct. This is one of the virtues that is difficult to teach your children theoretically. How do you handle the work of ministry or your business and that of others?
Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep
So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
(Prov.6:6-11)
Let them know that even walking with God requires some hard work. For instance, you need to sacrifice considerable time you should have used in sleeping in order to have your quiet time. Let them know that excellence in educational pursuits is also not complementary to laziness.
Attitude To Time.
Your attitude to time also matters as something your children has to see in you as a mother. The scriptures make us to realize that there is time and purpose for everything under the sun. (Eccl.3:1) It is not something you just teach verbally. They should learn it through the way you handle your time. Do you identify the most important things and give them priority or you just do things as they come? Let them know through the way you handle time that it is the most invaluable commodity in life. Time wasted is gone forever, never to be regained. Let them know that if they while away their youthful days, there will come a time they will look back with regrets. However, it is better taught with your own life as a model to them.
Your attitude To Integrity.
One of the best ways to teach integrity is to use your life to teach it. For instance most people only tell their children where they got it right in life; you hardly tell others where you failed. Virtually all parents will tell their children that they were on top of the class when they were in primary school, even those who were at the bottom! To teach integrity, you need to model it by telling your children where you missed it. For instance, if as a woman you did not get your degree because you were too much in a hurry to get married, you may use it to counsel your children that they should be patient to finish their education before going into marriage because it may not be as easy to do it once married. You don’t need to create a Superman image about yourself when you are not. Your children will appreciate you more as a person of integrity than someone trying to impress.
You must also pay attention to little things such as telling lies in the presence of your children.
Your Attitude About Heaven.
The importance of heaven in the journey of the believer is also better modelled in your day-to-day activities. Talk about it, demonstrate your hope for it as well as avoid those things that will cause you not to make it. It will be more real when demonstrated at home and the church, as well as everywhere else, so that your spiritual and biological children will learn from you.
In conclusion, being a mother-in-Israel makes you to realize that so many people looks up to you as a mother. It is not a question of age but a question of function due to your position as the pastor’s wife. You must not disappoint God in this position because failure on your part can have far-reaching implications on those that are looking up to you.
Will You Be A Mother-In-Israel?
Dr. Mike Oluniyi.
Insightful 👏👏👏
Thank you