Mother’s Day got me thinking: Do we need an ‘Other’s Day’ to honor the people who carry us through life?

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Mother’s Day got me thinking: Do we need an ‘Other’s Day’ to honor the people who carry us through life?

Mother’s Day honors those who raised us. Why not another holiday to celebrate the overlooked people who carry us through life.

By Greg Asimakoupoulos | FāVS News Columnist

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. 

Last weekend was all about celebrating mothers. Those who gave us birth and nurtured us are worthy of a holiday of their own. They are entitled to flowers, candy and cards. And even though my mom’s been gone for seven years, I still find creative ways to honor her through words and actions.

Mother’s Day also provides an opportunity to acknowledge the ways in which Mother Nature contributes to our wellbeing. Her natural beauty and organic goodness sustain our lives. The beauty of the Wenatchee Valley with the ever-increasing evidence of spring is Mother Nature’s reminder that no matter how bleak and barren life may be, things will get better if we just wait long enough. That’s a message my late mother reminded me of time and time again.

A mother’s legacy: Putting others first

But that wasn’t the only message my mom communicated to me as I grew up. She was quick to point out the importance of others. That was a value rooted in her family’s Christian faith that blossomed in her life as she grew older. As she tended the orchard of my adolescence, she prayed that her Christ-like concern for others would bear fruit in my life.

My mom’s example of putting others first helped shape my decision to become a clergyman. While studying in seminary, I discovered that Christianity is only one of the world religions that celebrates the virtue of focusing on others. I came to see that honoring others is a universal concept that all cultures value. Humanity is called to recognize the importance of living in community.

All the same, the faith I follow prioritizes “denying self to serve another.” Christianity leaves no doubt that we are to place the needs of others above our own. Love is what grows from that and is rooted in self-deprecating service. All the same, the Bible is quite clear that the soil of our souls is naturally contaminated by self-focus.

In spite of what we know to be true, we often allow our desires and selfish goals to take precedence over what is in another’s best interest. Christians call that instinct sin. And if you look closely at that little three-letter word, you can see what is at the center of that theological concept. 

Note how sin is spelled. What is the middle letter? What we call “sIn” is defined by capitalizing my wants, needs and preferences. Sin exists when “I” am at the center of the choices I make. When push comes to shove, I tend to shove down what my mom taught me and push myself forward.

An ancient struggle, a timeless remedy

Lest you think this internal wrestling match we have with doing the right thing is a contemporary phenomenon. It’s hardly new. It’s as old as the very first Apple Festival in the Garden of Eden. In a letter Saint Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome nearly 2,000 years ago, he made a case for a daily discipline that would counter our self-centered bias. He simply said, “Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10 NIV).

Reflecting on this New Testament commandment, I wondered. What if we followed up Mother’s Day by designating a day when we purposely seek to honor others? You know, the others in our sphere of influence who comprise our individual worlds.

To that end I put pen to paper and wrote the following in my journal:

Just recently it dawned on me we need a holiday

to honor others in our lives for what they do and say.

I’m thinking of the guys at work, our neighbors, merchants too.

Baristas, mailmen, waitresses, the one who heels our shoes.

Our children’s teachers, dry cleaners, a pastor or our priest,

those hospice workers, gardeners, the not-well-known. The least.

You catch my drift. I’m thinking of those people in our lives

who ease the burden of each day who seldom get a prize.

They need to know we value them. I think I have a way.

Why not a Sunday once a year that’s known as Other’s Day?

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