A Mother's Tribute

MOTHER'S DAY GIFTS What NOT to Buy Your Wife: Although the only person a man usually shops for is his wife, the whole experience is a stressful one. Many a man has felt extreme frigid temperatures for a long period based on a poor present decision. As a veteran of these wars, I’m still not sure what to buy my wife, but I’ll pass on what NOT to buy her: 1. Don’t buy anything that plugs in. Anything that requires electricity is seen as utilitarian. 2. Don’t buy clothing that involves sizes. The chances are one in seven thousand that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999 times. "Do I look like a size 16?" she’ll say. Too small a size doesn’t cut it either: "I haven’t worn a size 8 in 20 years!" 3. Avoid all things useful. The new silver polish advertised to save hundreds of hours is not going to win you any brownie points. 4. Don’t buy anything that involves weight loss or self-improvement. She’ll perceive a six-month membership to a diet center as a suggestion that’s she’s overweight. 5. Don’t buy jewelry. The jewelry your wife wants, you can’t afford. And the jewelry you can afford, she doesn’t want. 6. And, guys, do not fall into the traditional trap of buying her frilly underwear. Your idea of the kind your wife should wear and what she actually wears are light years apart. 7. Finally, don’t spend too much. "How do you think we’re going to afford that?" she’ll ask. But don’t spend too little. She won’t say anything, but she’ll think, "Is that all I’m worth?" SOURCE: Herb Forst in Cross River, NY, Patent Trader, in Reader’s Digest, Page 69.

“A Mother’s Tribute”

Proverbs 31:10-31

Introduction: Chapter 31 begins with a reference to two individuals so let’s identify them so we can read this text in context. King Lemuel is none other than King Solomon, the son of King David. The mother mentioned is his mother Bathsheba. We know the story of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11 where the sorted tale of the King’s adultery with her and the murder of her husband Uriah and the death of the child who died as a punishment from God. Solomon was born to David and Bathsheba after they had married following the death of Uriah.

I. A Mother’s Good

a. Her teachings

In verses 1-9 we see Bathsheba offering some words of wisdom to her son. It occurs to me that every mother is a teacher, that for good or for ill mothers are always teaching.

ILL - Mother’s teach on a daily basis… RELIGION: "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet." FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident." IRONY: "Keep laughing and I’ll give you something to cry about." STAMINA: "You’ll sit there ’til all that spinach is finished." WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room." THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"

We teach by our words but we also teach by our walk and if the two do not complement each other then we open ourselves to the charge of hypocrisy and I submit to you that there is nothing that will do more harm to your children than for them to feel that you are a hypocrite. They will tolerate almost anything else, mistakes and missteps; but hypocrisy is something else entirely. Mother’s there is a song from the sixty’s that says, “Teach your children well…” You only have one opportunity to do teach the well because they will be gone before you know it!

Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. ESV

One of the most powerful testimonies is a Christian mother is that of Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley. Author Sharon Glasgow shared a story about this woman in 2013:

Susanna Wesley’s Prayer Apron- Powerful Life Story - Sharon Glasgow

Hidden behind the door of many homes is the reality of hardship. Secret things happen that few want the world to know. Yet, from some people (presently and historically) we are given the inside story, whether they want it told or not.

“A devastated home isn’t always apparent on first impression, is it? Susanna Wesley was married to a preacher. They had 10 children of which, two grew up to bring millions of souls to Christ. That would be John and Charles Wesley. It’s a powerful story if you stop there, isn’t it?

But, behind the door of her home, hopeless conditions were the norm. She married a man who couldn’t manage money. They disagreed on everything from money to politics. They had 19 children. All except ten died in infancy. Sam (her husband) left her to raise the children alone for long periods of time. This was sometimes over something as simple as an argument.