Real Woman Red Flag: Scott Brown on Interests
Scott Brown says: On Wives Developing Their Interests: with wives being pulled in so many directions today, I was fascinated by the perpspective given by Carolyn Mahaney, wife of CJ Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries. The citation below is on her web site "Girl Talk" in the section, "About Us" and it lists their interests. Here it is... Interests: What interests? We're wives and mothers. We don't really have time for interests. Carolyn honestly can't remember the last time she had the luxury of interests. If she did have hobbies once upon a time, she’s completely forgotten them now. With three small boys, Kristin's interest (which borders on obsession) is sleep. But it's been hard to come by lately. Janelle's interests are simply confined to food and fun.
I usually like Scott Brown because he represents a kinder, gentler vein of the self-conscious, modern American patriarchy that I find so amusing and heartening. And, I have great sympathy for the crusading- though- demeaned moms that he quotes. But the commendation of a mother’s slap-happy neglect of the cultivation of mind and soul is... Communist. A Christian mother has souls to save, foremostly her own. She is not become a diminished human resource by virtue of her motherhood.
I have to speak humbly here, as a woman who is still looking forward to motherhood someday, but here is my hopeful proposal for motherhood from the perspective of a sleepless student: take your B vitamins for extra energy and cultivate your interests. A Christian mother has interests, though she may have to exercise an heroic amount of discipline to maintain them.
First, she is interested in Christ, her first Spouse. Consequentially, she is first devoted to Him and to His interests- the purity and propagation of His Gospel, the care of His motherless, the service of His Church, for whose sake she raises babies.
In the same way, she is interested in her husband. She has vowed to her Lord that, excluding no dimension of intellect or feeling or experience, she will actively converse in the life of her spouse.
Furthermore, as a mother, she keeps her interests alive so that she will be able to gift them to her children; probably nothing forms a child more than it’s parent’s passionate interests. It stands to reason that those heritable interests (for there will inevitably be interests, whether base or noble) had better be elevated, cultivated, and informed, especially with regard to the content of the Christian faith.
Finally, a woman’s consent to the duties of motherhood is tantamount to a bid to shelter her children, for which God will hold her accountable. A mother must make a home for her children, first in her household and then in the whole economy of human society; motherhood- which is missionary life in the world at its most vital level- implies a heavily interested cultural mandate. Mothers, of all people, are called to shape the secular and ecclesial structures which their children will inhabit.
No interests? Tsk-Tsk.
I usually like Scott Brown because he represents a kinder, gentler vein of the self-conscious, modern American patriarchy that I find so amusing and heartening. And, I have great sympathy for the crusading- though- demeaned moms that he quotes. But the commendation of a mother’s slap-happy neglect of the cultivation of mind and soul is... Communist. A Christian mother has souls to save, foremostly her own. She is not become a diminished human resource by virtue of her motherhood.
I have to speak humbly here, as a woman who is still looking forward to motherhood someday, but here is my hopeful proposal for motherhood from the perspective of a sleepless student: take your B vitamins for extra energy and cultivate your interests. A Christian mother has interests, though she may have to exercise an heroic amount of discipline to maintain them.
First, she is interested in Christ, her first Spouse. Consequentially, she is first devoted to Him and to His interests- the purity and propagation of His Gospel, the care of His motherless, the service of His Church, for whose sake she raises babies.
In the same way, she is interested in her husband. She has vowed to her Lord that, excluding no dimension of intellect or feeling or experience, she will actively converse in the life of her spouse.
Furthermore, as a mother, she keeps her interests alive so that she will be able to gift them to her children; probably nothing forms a child more than it’s parent’s passionate interests. It stands to reason that those heritable interests (for there will inevitably be interests, whether base or noble) had better be elevated, cultivated, and informed, especially with regard to the content of the Christian faith.
Finally, a woman’s consent to the duties of motherhood is tantamount to a bid to shelter her children, for which God will hold her accountable. A mother must make a home for her children, first in her household and then in the whole economy of human society; motherhood- which is missionary life in the world at its most vital level- implies a heavily interested cultural mandate. Mothers, of all people, are called to shape the secular and ecclesial structures which their children will inhabit.
No interests? Tsk-Tsk.
posted by MM at 10:31 AM
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