If we were to allow our thoughts the liberty of wandering “back in the day”, I’m sure there are certain bromides or truisms that our mothers used to not-so-subtly make a point or convey a message. Among the most universal “momisms” has to be the question, or one very similar, asked with directness and more than a tinge of sarcasm: “If Carl told you to jump off a cliff (building, bridge, or even obelisk, depending on how bourgeois your mother was), would you? This inquiry often came on the heels of something akin to getting in a parked car with 3 other kids, the oldest being 5, releasing the parking brake, and rolling down a driveway. Well that was pretty specific, wasn’t it? And personal, I might add. Now to his credit, and my incredulity, Steve Duckworth, the mastermind behind this ill conceived stunt, bailed out of the moving car half way down the driveway. I remained petrified and motionless in the back seat, not having a great grasp of the dynamic of inertia. Anyhoo, my participation/involvement in this entire escapade and the ensuing punishment could have been prevented had I simply refused to do what even my 4 or 5 year old brain knew wasn’t such a smart idea.
So moms, maybe without knowing it, were simply echoing an admonition given to us thousands of years earlier in the Bible when they asked their rhetorical question. According to Scripture in Proverbs 25:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:33, when we hang with the wrong people, we will invariably do the wrong things! Men, it is essential that we connect ourselves to guys that are rowing in the same, righteous direction, spiritually speaking. Whereas “bad company” will bring about undesirable consequences, relationships with men that love the Lord and desire to please Him will make us blessed, according to Proverbs 13:20 and Romans 1:12, to name but a few verses.
(Click “Stand on Firmer Ground” for deeper look into Mom’s Rhetorical Question.)