May 11, 2025

She WHo Gave You Birth Be Joyful

Pastor Rok Lee

Proverbs 23:22-25

22 Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. 25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

A few years ago, I read something on the internet about how children think about their mom at different ages. When a child is 4 years old, they think, “My mom knows everything.” At 8, they say, “Mom knows a lot.” At 12, “Mom doesn’t know everything.” At 14, “Mom knows nothing.” At 16, “Why should I listen to Mom?” At 18, “Mom is so old-fashioned.” But at 25, they begin to think, “Maybe Mom was right.” At 35, “Let me ask Mom before I decide.” At 45, “What would Mom do in this situation?” And by the time they are 70, they say, “How I wish I could ask my mom…”

This doesn’t apply only to mothers—it’s how many children view their parents over time. When we are young, we see our parents as superheroes who can do everything. But as we grow, we spend more time with friends and begin to think our parents are old-fashioned and strict. Then, as we go through life—college, work, and struggles—we slowly realize that our parents were right about many things. And eventually, we reach a time when, even if we want to talk to them, they are no longer with us.

Today is Mother’s Day. Through today’s message, I want to share the grace of God with you as we look at what the Bible says about the relationship between parents and children.

The Bible emphasizes active honoring of parents. There’s a story of a man known as a very devoted son. The king, hearing of his reputation, sent a servant to reward him. But when the servant arrived, he was shocked. The man didn’t seem respectful at all. The elderly mother cooked and cleaned and fetched water from the well, while the son just lay around and ate what she served him. The servant scolded him, saying, “People said you were a devoted son, but you just make your poor mom work while you do nothing!” The man calmly replied, “I don’t know if I’m a devoted son, but I just try to help my mother do what she wants to do.” What people didn’t see was that every night, the son secretly checked the mother’s path for safety, fixed her tools, and made her work easier in unseen ways.

Sometimes we think honoring our parents must be something big—like buying expensive gifts, giving them a fancy car, or taking them on a cruise after retirement. We often say to ourselves, “I don’t have much now, so I’ll honor my parents later.” But maybe honoring parents isn’t as hard as we think. In today’s verse, Proverbs 23:25 says, “Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.” At the heart of honoring parents is bringing them joy.

When I go home, there’s always laughter. My daughter, Ari, brings me joy in everything she does. The moment I walk in the door and she smiles and says, “Daddy,” my heart is full. I apologize for the example, but even when she poops well, I’m happy. When she eats well, speaks, or plays, even pooping—every little thing brings joy. As a parent, I realize that simply being connected with child and their healthy is enough to bring joy. That is what honoring looks like.

However, the Bible doesn’t talk about a passive honoring. It speaks of active honoring—like in the story I shared. The son didn’t just lie there while his mother worked—he actively supported her in what she wanted to do. So what does the Bible say honoring parents looks like?

Proverbs 23:22 says, “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” The word “listen” in Hebrew is shema, which means not just hearing with your ears, but listening with your heart and obeying. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses tells the Israelites, “Shema, O Israel”—Listen, O Israel, and goes on to say to teach God’s Word to children, bind it to their hands, and write it on their doorposts. It’s not just about hearing—it’s about taking it to heart and living by it.

So when Proverbs tells us to listen to your father, it’s saying to treasure their words in your heart and obey. Most parents do not teach harmful things to their children. That’s why we should listen to them.

I once met a missionary working in one of the poorest areas of Philadelphia. In that neighborhood, drug use was everywhere. Many kids were neglected because their parents were addicted. Gunshots were heard daily, and every few blocks there were flowers or snacks on the sidewalk—marking places where someone had been shot and killed. The police couldn’t even control the area.

This missionary held a VBS for kids in that area. One day, a white luxury Benz pulled into the church parking lot. A well-dressed woman and her child got out. They were the wife and son of the local drug lord. Even someone selling drugs wanted his child to know Jesus. They wanted something good for their child.

Jesus also said: “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children…” (Luke 11:11–13a)

In the culture of Israel, parents have the duty to teach their children in God’s authority. That means they are supposed to pass down the Word of God. So when the Bible says to “listen to your father,” it ultimately means to listen to God’s wisdom passed down through them.

Verse 23 follows with: “Buy the truth, and do not sell it.” This means to hold on to truth and never let it go. Even if someone offers a lot of money, never trade away the truth. Truth can’t really be bought or sold—it’s something we receive, often freely, from their parents.

But sometimes we take for granted what we receive for free. There’s a story of a curtain shop in the richest town that had no customers. The owner tried lowering prices and wrote that on a sign. But the young son, as a prank, added a zero to the end of the price—and suddenly, people started coming in. People often think if something costs more, it must be better. So we sometimes think that what our parents gave us—especially faith—is nothing special, since we didn’t pay for it.

But the Bible says that this gift, freely given, is the most precious thing. God’s Word, Jesus who came to us freely, is the most valuable. Yet we often take it lightly. We ignore the words our parents taught us, and we forget the blood that Jesus shed for us. Why? Because we didn’t pay for it. But the Bible tells us that it is this free gift—this grace—that makes us righteous. It is only through this gift that we can have a relationship with God.

Verse 24 continues: “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice.” Honoring our parents means making them glad. And who brings them joy? The righteous. And how do we become righteous? By holding on to the faith and wisdom we received—and by accepting Jesus. Being righteous means believing in Jesus. The Apostle Paul sums up today’s sermon with one sentence: “And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) The life that pleases our parents is a life made righteous through Jesus.

Dear church, if you are a parent, I encourage you to pass on your faith to your children. If you are a child, I encourage you to receive that faith and be made righteous through Jesus. This pleases both your heavenly parent and your earthly parents. I’m not asking you to live a perfect moral life. I’m inviting you to a life that believes in Jesus. Today is Mother’s Day, may Jesus dwell in your homes and bless your families. That brings joy in your household.