Everybody Loves Mrs. Barone?

If you’ve every watched the TV program “Everybody Loves Raymond” you understand the twisted relationships of the show.  The show is based on exaggerations of normal everyday relationships. The relationship I want to point out is between Ray and his mother. Ray does not want to disrespect his mother. The relationship he has with other people takes a beating because of his lack of standing up to his mother. The relationship that suffers the most is with his wife. If a man wants his marriage to last, he must be the one to set boundaries with his mother. You cannot leave it up to your wife and mother. It is the son’s responsibility. When I was younger, my mother was always there for me. The problem was, I wasn’t man enough to stand on my own. It wasn’t mom’s fault, it was totally mine. I lived down the street from my parents and it was too convenient if I needed something. Early in the Bible it tells of leaving your parents and being joined with your wife as one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) Men, you cannot allow your mother to come between you and your wife.

Jesus also knew that he needed to be the one to separate from mom.  When he was twelve years old he was physically separated from his parents. His mother, after finding him, spoke up and asked him why he had done this to them. They didn’t understand that he would be in his Father’s house, as he answered her. The next time we hear of Jesus speaking to his mother is at a wedding when they run out of wine. His mother comes to him and again he speaks up and tells her his hour hasn’t come. He even refers to her as “woman”. A third time is when He is speaking to a crowd and his mother and brothers ask to speak to him. He doesn’t stop speaking to the crowd and even refers to them as his family. He didn’t forget his mother, as seen when he was on the cross. He made sure that she was taken care of. The relationship changed from relying on mother, being independent of mother, to taking care of mother.

Jesus knew how to separate from his mother. We need to take note of this and leave our mothers when the time has come. I leaned on my mother too long and it kept me from growing as a man. It took me years to understand how this could keep me from maturing as a man. The next step will be is to make sure my mother is taken care of, if she outlives my dad.