The Courage of our Founding Mothers

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”  (Proverbs 31:30).

It makes me weep when I think about how much our Founding Mothers sacrificed so that their children and grandchildren could live in a free country. It is sad to see how little courage or unselfishness exists now among most women in our country. Today’s woman feels cheated if she can’t get her latte on the way to work. Our predecessors often went without water or other basic necessities for days. As strong patriots, they were willing and happy to do this for the greater good of everyone. Made of tough moral fiber, they understood that some things were more important than their personal comfort.

I am so frightened for this current generation. Young women have no idea what it means to sacrifice let alone how to go about it. In this, “I want it now, and I’m not waiting” culture, it would be hard to even explain why deferring gratification might be important. Don’t save up for anything; just put it on your charge card. For the first time in history, there is a negative savings rate among the populace. In times past people always saved something, often as much as ten percent, or for really hard-working folks with foresight, twenty-five percent of their earnings.

Now there is no thought for the future. If times get tough, our new parent, the government, will take care of us. So, let’s just buy whatever makes us happy. Our girls are taught in the public schools to think of themselves first. All of psychology is bent on the autonomy and aggrandizement of the individual. As they grow older, girls learn that nothing must stand in their way of personal fulfillment. “Get married instead of living with that guy? What! And lose my tax advantage!”  “What do you mean I’m pregnant? I’m in the middle of the biggest rise in my career. I guess I’ll just have to get rid of this little inconvenience!” In a society where women believe that they are the center of the world, it is next to impossible to get them to see that they were created to serve others starting with God.

And so I know that I am asking for a lot when I ask women to consider that our society is going to ruin. Everything that our foremothers worked hard and sacrificed for is just being tossed away. I am asking too much that they consider that they must stop being so selfish and think about the future. Right now, they only need to give up things that were considered luxuries by past generations in order to begin to turn the tide around. Who couldn’t live without mocha latte’s and glue-on fingernails, really? It wouldn’t take much for most women to be able to save fifty or one hundred dollars a month.

Most live paycheck to paycheck. I am a little bit sympathetic since they have not been taught how to save by the previous generation. We are so far from even being able to take care of ourselves, let alone have enough left to give to others. We are called by God to help the poor. How can we do that with a negative savings rate?

Our Founding Mothers not only sacrificed for themselves and their families. Many went without buying new clothes for months in order to give aid to the poor. After the Declaration of Independence was signed, and our country was at war with Britain, much regular commerce and trade slowed down or stopped. Have only two dresses to your name? Well, there aren’t any more fine things coming from Europe, so you’ll have to learn how to make homespun material and make your own clothing. And while you’re at it, make enough for uniforms for your soldier husband and sons. And don’t forget your neighbor, who has tuberculosis and six children to care for.

The wives of the men who fought in the War for Independence were as much responsible for the successful outcome as their husbands. Without good women at home, taking care of the farm, the children, and anyone else that needed aid, the men would not have been able to be away for months at a time doing their duty. In order to have money for the war, and food, the women had to take care of the farm, growing the crops, harvesting them, and selling them. This they did without complaining. These were truly Proverbs 31 women, looking for wool and cotton perhaps. Working with their hands, they arose while it was still night and worked hard to provide for their families. They did not fear the snow for their households, because they had made coverings for everyone. They supplied jackets and socks for soldiers. They did not eat the bread of idleness. They knew not of government welfare.

Strength and dignity were their clothing, and they were able to smile at the future. Their husbands praised them. And we, their children also praise them and thank them for their noble work.

Is it any wonder that children today leave home and move far away so that they can live their own self-centered lives? How many children today “rise up and bless” their mothers? Why should they? This is the complete breakdown of our society. This is just the opposite of a society where women are not self-centered. Those women build up a society.

Our country has been one of the most prosperous in the history of the world. This is because of the Christian faith of the founders. That faith was common to most all of the wives of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This is a faith that believes in God, in serving Christ, and in serving others. This is what makes a nation strong and promotes freedom. In a country where people can depend on each other for honesty, righteousness, and selflessness, there is much liberty. In a society where everyone is only out to get what they can for themselves, liberty slowly erodes away.

My prayer is that all of my friends will see what is happening to our country, and begin to think about how we can make changes before it is too late. There is still much goodness left in America; that is the only reason we are not under a dictatorship already. Please let it be said about the women of our generation that “Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.” May God bless our efforts.