Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, does mom need to be hot? This is prompted by an article I read recently in the Wall Street Journal, titled unbelievably, the Tyranny of the Hot mom by Emma Rosebloom. Basically, it was looking at this idea that modern pictures of motherhood are now no longer just about providing a warm home, putting a meal on the table, being emotionally available, kind of the stereotypical things we think of when we think of motherhood. You must also now look great. Mom is expected to cook well, listen well, clean well, and look a 10 out of 10. Cultural pressure. Social media is amplifying the message of hot moms as influencers spend as much time telling mom how to do her lip liner as they spend telling her how to knock that casserole out of the park. Now, the problem with this, of course, is that this layer lays another layer of expectation on mom. So, so now beauty work is also part of her mental load. Moms are responsible for a lot and basically for not letting us see that it matters or bothers to them at all. We're looking for hot moms in America in 2026. but here's the thing. this trend is terrible, and I'll tell you why in just a minute. But it's also not exclusive to moms. The hot mom trend of laying expectation after expectation and is something every subgroup of culture can understand. Whether you're a dad, a mom, an employee, an entrepreneur, people are always going to lay expectation after expectation on you. Social media in particular, because it exists to sell you. Something is always going to say to you, but what if you could do this? What if you could look this way? What if you could have that? So if you're a mom and you're thinking, I can't keep up, let alone look great doing it, boy, have I got a message for you and for all of us about societal expectations. Jesus came to set hot moms free or to set moms free from having to be hot. Listen to what he says in Matthew 11:28. He says, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I am will give you rest. You see, Jesus came to set us free from societal expectations by telling us that our worth and our value is not in our performance. It's not in the performance of making the meal. It's not in the performance of having a clean house. It's not in the performance of looking great. Our worth, mom, your worth is that you're made in the image of God. That you were so valuable to him, that his own son came and gave his life to rescue you. That your hope is not that you're a 10 out of 10 mom in any category, let alone every category, but that one day you will be with God forever. You are a blood bought loved daughter of God. So breathe a little. That means that Christian moms aren't necessarily the kind of moms who don't care if the meal is good or the house is clean or even if they look good. It just means they don't have to. And you see that's the difference, isn't it? It isn't that Christians don't want to achieve that. We don't want to accomplish that. We don't care about how we look or what we. It's that we're set free from the need of performing for other people's approval. So mom, if you're a 10 out of 10 chef, cook your brains out. And if you're not a 10 out of 10 in another category, that's okay. You are valuable because of what God says, not even because of what your husband or kids say. That means then you can run headlong into love with reckless abandon, trying to get everything from as right as you possibly can. And then you can go to bed at night and thank God that your value is not in your performance. And by the way, let me just say this. I think this is appropriate for everyone. But since we're talking about hot moms husbands, this is a place for us to speak into. Are we communicating our wives value even when they do well in the kitchen or they look great or the house is clean or they do great at work, but also when they don't. Are we saying to our wives in the middle of a bad day, hey remember your value is in Christ and your value to me as your husband is absolute. Listen. Voices on the outside of our families are always going to raise the expectations for the people inside of our families. But our homes should be a place of constant reminder. Mom, you don't need to be hot. You are loved by Jesus. What a message for mom and for all of us. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content, or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!