I’m all about uplifting women. If you’ve followed my work, you know I’m probably one of the biggest advocates for the idea that the Bible empowers women. I’ve made videos on how the mothers in Scripture helped shape the entire arc of redemptive history. The women who rock the cradle can, indeed, rock the world.
So hear me: this post isn’t about bashing motherhood. It’s not about stripping away the honor due to women who nurture and raise others with love and wisdom.
It’s about asking how we honor. And whether what we’ve built in church culture reflects Jesus—or something else entirely.
Each year, Mother’s Day rolls around, and many churches bring out the roses, the slideshows, and a whole service dedicated to moms. While honoring parents is biblical (Exod. 20:12), we need to ask some hard questions:
Have we celebrated an idealized family model more than we’ve celebrated Good Friday, Pentecost, or even the Resurrection?
There are Sundays when the church barely acknowledges Holy Week or the birth of the Church—yet Mother’s Day? That gets banners, brunches, and full-on production.
And I’m not exaggerating: statistically, Mother’s Day is the third highest-attended Sunday of the year—right behind Easter and Christmas. That’s significant.
I’m not suggesting we throw it out entirely. I am suggesting we reflect deeply on what our choices say about who we value and why.
Are we honoring motherhood?
Or are we catering to cultural expectations?
Do we truly believe a woman is more pleasing to God if she has children than if she is celibate on the mission field?
Because when we elevate motherhood as the highest identity a woman can achieve, we risk sending a dangerous message:
That parenting—specifically, mothering—is more holy than discipleship.
Ouch.
Let me be clear: I believe motherhood is a sacred, beautiful calling.
But it is not a woman’s highest calling.
And I get that straight from Jesus.
In Luke 11:27–28, a woman calls out from the crowd:
“Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”
And Jesus replies:
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
He isn’t dishonoring his mother, or being a parent… He’s re-centering the conversation. The priority in the Kingdom isn’t biology—it’s obedience.
We don’t know if Peter’s wife was a mother. We don’t know if she stayed home or joined him in ministry. We don’t know if Mary Magdalene, Joanna, or Susanna had children. The Gospels don’t tell us—because that wasn’t the point.
What we do know is that these women were disciples. They funded Jesus’ ministry. They stayed at the cross when others fled. They were faithful, courageous, and Spirit-filled.
So what happens when churches turn Mother’s Day into a spiritual performance?
What happens to:
the woman who longed for children but couldn’t have them, and carries a silent, aching grief?
the mother who buried a child and feels invisible in her sorrow while others celebrate?
the woman estranged from her mother or children, feeling the fracture all over again?
the single person who hears sermons suggesting that marriage and motherhood are the ultimate Christian goals?
the person whose experience of “mother” is wrapped in trauma, neglect, or abuse—and spends the day walking on emotional landmines?
When churches uncritically center traditional family roles—especially on high-visibility Sundays like this—we risk excluding many women rather than honoring them.
Your church starts to look less like a sanctuary and more like a spotlight for some—and a shadow for everyone else.
Instead of reflecting the liberating, inclusive Kingdom of God where all are dignified—not because of their relationship status or reproductive history, but because they bear the image of God—we shrink womanhood to roles not all have chosen or been able to fulfill.
When faithfulness to Christ isn’t seen as enough unless you also have a spouse and kids, the result is shame and isolation.
Here’s the lament:
When we build our sermons and liturgies around the nuclear family, we narrow the gospel. We reduce identity to roles, and we center a cultural script over a Kingdom one. That’s not what the early church modeled. That’s not what Jesus preached.
Here’s the call:
Let’s celebrate discipleship.
Let’s honor obedience to the Word.
Let’s tell the stories of unnamed, unseen saints who bore spiritual fruit we may never fully trace. Let’s stop using Mother’s Day to draw lines between who is “blessed” and who isn’t quite there yet.
The Church should be the last place where someone feels like their value is tied to their biology.
Let it be a sanctuary. Let it be a place where married, single, childless, parenting, and grieving people are honored for hearing the Word of God and doing it.
“Blessed rather are those who do just that.”
Practical Ideas for a More Inclusive Mother’s Day:
1. Avoid “Stand if you’re a mom” moments.
These may honor some, but they isolate many. Instead, acknowledge all who nurture, lead, and care in various ways—biological or not.
2. Give gifts everyone can receive.
Instead of roses for moms only, consider a meaningful token—like a seed packet, candle, or blessing card—offered to all women, or even the entire congregation. You could also partner with a local café to provide a small discount or offer a special treat to everyone that day.
3. Hold space for lament.
Have prayer teams available. Set up a station for writing prayers, journaling, or lighting candles in memory. Recognize the complicated emotions many people bring into the room.
4. Celebrate discipleship and Spirtual Milestones with Enthusiasm throughout the year
Baptism. Pentecost. MLK Day. Anniversaries of ordination or calling. Make space for stories that show how people—regardless of their family status—are walking faithfully with Jesus.
5. Teach on calling and vocation throughout the year.
Make it clear that motherhood is one valid and beautiful calling, but not the only one. The Kingdom needs teachers, artists, prophets, counselors, leaders, and missionaries—all kinds of people walking in obedience.
6. And lastly—
If Mother’s Day is the only Sunday out of the year when a woman is allowed to preach or be visible on stage (outside the worship team)… it might be time to rethink everything.