Ken Barnes
on May 9, 2026

A Mother’s Influence

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

Devotional 2026 May

6 min read

A Mother’s Influence

My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Proverbs 6:20 NLT

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

Harrison Butker, the field goal kicker for the recent Super Bowl Champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, started a firestorm with the comments he made at the college graduation ceremony. A Catholic Bishop recently said Butker was pro-God, pro-family, and pro-mother and father. The Bishop concluded; what was so controversial about that? The reality is that it has been, which illustrates how far our culture has strayed from a Christian worldview.

Loren Cunningham, the late co-founder of Youth With A Mission, where I worked for seventeen years, said, from a Christian perspective, the man has the greater authority. Still, women have a more significant influence. As I said earlier, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. From the comments that have come Butker’s way, many think he has given a secondary role to the mother or women. I think he was doing just the opposite; though God has given parents different functions, they have equal value in his eyes.

From the scriptural reference above, we are reminded to obey our father’s commands, acknowledge his authority, and respect our mother’s admonition, recognizing her influence.  Both roles are equally necessary and valuable in a family. It’s not that a mother has no authority, or a father cannot nurture, but there are primary roles for each. When a mother or father overplay or underplay their role in the family, it leads to disarray.

Why is there so much confusion in our culture today? We have ignored or rejected the clear guidelines for families, including the roles of mothers, fathers, and children given in the Bible. The result has been chaos in society. When a voice like Butker comes along speaking common sense in relation to motherhood, validating her influence and value, and the world goes berserk, you know that culture is on a downward spiral.

Ken Barnes worked with Youth With A Mission for seventeen years, primarily involved in discipleship training and evangelism. He is the author of The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places, published in 2011 by YWAM Publishing, and Broken Vessels in 2021 through Kindle Direct Publishing.  He holds a Master of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Curriculum and Instruction. He currently is a freelance writer.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  [email protected]
Blog Website 

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