Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. – Matthew 20:20-22a (NIV) James and John were a bit on the cocky side. Their father, Zebedee, was moderately wealthy and owned a fishing company (Mark 1:20). Their mother, Salome (Mark 15:40) was active in Jesus’ ministry as were her two adult sons. Apparently, her sons inherited something of her aggressive nature because they received the nickname “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). Despite being a bit overbearing and overconfident, we see here an example of a faithful, Christian family. There is no hint in this passage that Salome (or the boys) lacked faith in Christ and she certainly had a high view of Jesus. She recognized his divinity and worshiped him (notice her kneeling down). The problem was that she also had too high a view of her sons.
Pushy parents should see a warning in this text. So many times Christian parents, who truly love God, tend to honor the wrong thing. Certainly a mom is always to be loving and proud of her children. Yet, Salome went well beyond this, as do many parents today.
Moms run their children all around town so they may participate in endless extra-curricular activities. Dads work overtime to pay for more ‘stuff’ for the kids. Ask any public school teacher and she (or he) can tell you endless stories of pushy parents (I have been that parent). “My child should be able to sing in the Christmas play”. “My son should be playing short-stop”. “My daughter should have received an A on that class project”.
Yes, such sentiments are motivated by genuine love. Parents like these truly want the best for their child, but therein lays the problem. For Salome, the “best” meant exalting her sons to Jesus. Though she taught her boys to believe in Christ, she also allowed the subtle sin of self-centeredness to take root in their hearts. She saw the “best” as being positions of power. God sees the best as being Jesus himself. Though still disciples, Jesus ceased to be the perfect center and focus of their lives. Salome exalted her sons to Jesus when she should have exalted Jesus to her sons.
Parents, the best thing you can do for your child is to teach them the magnificent glory and splendor of Christ.
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. – Matthew 20:20-22a (NIV)
It seems some of this is motivated by societal pressure to have kids who are "well-rounded". There is certainly nothing wrong with kids being in activites, but when the front door becomes a revolving door and the minivn becomes a taxi, the home stops being a home and becomes just a place to sleep. Too many families spend virtually no time together, including meal time, and yet think that they are doing their kids a favor. Which has a longer term positive impact, family time spent together or soccer practice?
ReplyDelete