Like this:

In Proverbs 1:8 it says, “Listen my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching”.  Notice the different words of instruction and teaching.

Webster defines instruct as to communicate knowledge. It defines teach as to show how to do something. I find it interesting that the word instruct is simply telling knowledge. Teaching involves showing.

As I think of Mother’s Day, I am reminded that fathers and mothers are wired differently. Fathers tell, mothers show. I know this is not always true, but it makes sense to me. Traditionally, mothers spend more time with their children than do the fathers. They not only tell, but also show. My point: Mothers serve a role that many times cannot be duplicated by a father. This came to light after my first wife, Lynn, died unexpectedly 7 years ago. After her death, I found it frustrating that the children were looking for things in me that Lynn had always provided. Some of these I couldn’t fulfill. Why? Because God made both for special purposes. Put together, they make a wonderful blend of what God meant for us to be as parents.

I think of the special role that my mother played in my salvation and my calling to be a minister. I think of the way that Lynn and Diane have played in their childrens lives to shape them. In all three of these cases, I saw each of them show, not just teach.

I honor all mothers this Sunday. I pray extra blessings on you and yours. For those of you that don’t have your mother alive this year, may God add to your life blessings of the past, and the hope to be reunited someday with your mother.