Motherhood: The Power of Sacrificial Love

Written by Mike Farris

The feminist movement strives for power. Feminist ideology preaches the acquisition of power for essentially self-centered purposes: career, control of “one’s own body,” politics, cash.

A mother’s power is premised on the opposite of selfishness. A new life is born out of nine months of discomfort and sacrifice and not a little pain. That new life is nurtured and guided through sleepless nights and endless days. The delivery may have ended in the hospital, but a mother continues in labor for years afterward as she continues to sacrifice the best hours of her day and the best years of her life for the good of her children.

The feminist ideology can never truly compete with godly motherhood in the acquiring of power. Ultimately, power is the ability to influence the decisions and actions of other people. Few people will be willing to follow a leader committed to selfishness. Ultimately, that leader will prove her commitment to the view that “I come first” and leave her followers in a compromised position. We trust a leader who sacrificially demonstrates his or her commitment to our well-being, for we are willingly guided by a person who genuinely loves us.

We have all heard the saying, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” This is true for one simple reason: sacrificial love is inherently more trustworthy than selfishness. This is why godly mothers will always have greater influence than secular feminists.

I would like for us to consider four aspects of a mother’s power over the lives of her children from examples of motherhood we find in Scripture. It is my fervent hope that these examples will both encourage you and invigorate you to do an even better job with your children. But don’t expect me to give you too many lists of goals to accomplish or tasks to complete. Sometimes such lists get in the way of seeing the big picture. And The Spiritual Power of a Mother is definitely a “big picture” kind of book.

I believe that the most important thing I can do for mothers is to help them see the long-term positive impact they are having in the lives of their children. It is from gaining that “big picture” perspective that we find deep encouragement. I am convinced that the number-one need of moms is encouragement to get through the days and nights of labor and sacrifice that we call motherhood.

This article is excerpted from Mike Farris' book The Spiritual Power of a Mother and is provided courtesy of Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Mike Farris is the president of Patrick Henry College (www.phc.edu) and the founder and chairman of the board of Home School Legal Defense Association. He and his wife, Vickie, have ten children and six grandchildren, and have been homeschooling for 21 years.

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