A Mom Worth Modeling

A Mom Worth Modeling

Proverbs 31:10-31

Rev. Brian Bill

www.pontiacbible.org

5/13/07

I think some moms were mad at me last week. Not only did I encourage kids to be noisy in church whenever I said the name “Haman,” I also told a young boy after the service that he could take the trumpet home. He was pretty excited and raced back into the auditorium to pick it up. Everything was going well until he ran into his mom, and things were going great for me until mom ran into me. With glaring eyes and a pointed finger, she let me know in no uncertain terms that I had crossed a line. She kept telling me I was in a deep hole. I think I saw a smile on her face but I can’t be sure.

In an effort to climb out of the hole with moms this morning I want to trumpet the significant role of all women and mothers in particular. It’s my hope to do more praising than preaching because I sincerely want to celebrate and not denigrate the amazing women here today.

It’s easy for men to mess things up on Mother’s Day. Billy Graham’s favorite story is about a husband who never bought anything for his wife on Mother’s Day because he reasoned that she wasn’t his mother anyway. One year he decided to change all that and so he stopped on his way home from work and bought a box of candy and some flowers to surprise her. When he arrived home he decided to go to the front door and ring the doorbell. When she opened the door, he crooned, “I love you deeply, honey. Happy Mother’s Day!” She instantly started crying but he noticed quickly that these were not tears of joy. As she dried her eyes she exclaimed, “Oh, Harry! This is the worst day of my life! The dishwasher broke. The toilet backed up. The kids have been fighting all day. The house is a wreck. And now you come home drunk!”

Eight-year-old Mary wrote her mother a note for Mother’s Day: “Dear mother, here is the box of candy I bought you for Mother’s Day. It is very good candy. I know, because I already ate three pieces.” President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established this day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” It’s certainly true that no nation is ever greater than its mothers, for they are the makers of the next generation.

While we certainly want to magnify motherhood; today may be pleasant or it may be painful for some of you. Perhaps you’ve recently lost your mother and you’re grieving her. Or, maybe one of your children has died or gone prodigal on you. It’s quite possible that you are in conflict with your mom or your memories of her are not so good. If you’re a mom, maybe you feel some guilt about how you raised your kids. Some of you can’t have children and you’re hurting about that. Others of you aren’t married and you wish you were. And some of you are parenting solo as you strive to hold everything together.

I should tell you that I have never preached a sermon on Proverbs 31 because I’ve heard some women say that they never want to hear a Mother’s Day message on this passage. One woman told me several years ago that if she never hears another sermon from Proverbs 31 that would be fine with her. Another mother wondered out loud: “Is this really a real woman?” After all, who can live up to this laundry list of expectations? At the risk of getting some more moms mad at me, I want us to look at this portion of God’s Word. I have three goals today. First, it’s my prayer that more women will learn to worship and fear the Lord. Second, I trust that this portion of God’s Word will provide some mentoring for moms who wonder about their role as women. Third, I want each of us to practice praising the women in our lives.

Before we ponder this passage, let me make some introductory comments.

* The Book of Proverbs deals with how to apply wisdom in the family. This collection of wisdom is designed to help us in every area of life, with particular attention given to the family. If you and your family could use some extra wisdom you may want to check out the sermon series “Wise Words to Live By” at www.pontiacbible.org. Incidentally, if you’re struggling with where to read in the Bible, why not read one chapter of Proverbs a day? Since there are 31 chapters, you could read the one that matches the day of the month. If you start today you would read Proverbs 13.