Being A Woman Of Noble Character

Being a Woman of Noble Character

Proverbs 31:10-31

May 11, 2003

Introduction

Little children can come up with some very interesting ideas. Listen to what some children wrote to their mothers for Mother’s Day.

Angie, 8 years old, wrote: "Dear Mother, I’m going to make dinner for you on Mother’s Day. It’s going to be a surprise. P.S. I hope you like pizza & popcorn."

Robert wrote: "I got you a turtle for Mother’s Day. I hope you like the turtle better than the snake I got you last year."

Eileen wrote: "Dear Mother, I wish Mother’s Day wasn’t always on Sunday. It would be better if it were on Monday so we wouldn’t have to go to school."

Little Diane wrote: "I hope you like the flowers I got you for Mother’s Day. I picked them myself when Mr. Smith wasn’t looking."

And how about this one from Carol? "Dear Mother, Here are two aspirins. Have a happy Mother’s Day!"

You may have noticed something lately. After decades of trying to convince us that there is really no difference between men and women aside from reproductive organs, the science world is finally getting a clue.

They’re finally figuring out that there really are differences between men and women.

I made mention of this last week, but let me hit it again here for just a minute.

God made men and women different. And far from that being a bad thing, it’s something we should lift up and celebrate.

If God made you a man, than be glad about the way He made you. In the same way, if God made you a woman, celebrate that.

If you’re a mother, that’s worth celebrating. I think motherhood is a sure sign that there is a Creator.

Mother’s Day is not a Scriptural holiday, nor is it a church holiday. It’s a greeting card holiday. And so I’m not going to spend a lot of time extolling the virtues of motherhood, which are many.

What you find happening in a lot of churches is a study of famous mothers in the Bible, with an idealizing of her and her spiritual life, and then a challenge that is almost impossible to meet, to try and emulate this awesome mother.

That’s not to say we can’t learn something from mothers in the Bible. Last year we looked at Hannah, the mother of Samuel, and explored how her prayer life serves as an example of how women can pray effectively.

But sometimes our ladies are given the impression that unless you’re a mother, and as holy and spiritual as Mary, the mother of Jesus, or at least Susanna Wesley, then they’re just not quite cutting it in the eyes of God.

And that’s just not true. Ladies, whether or not you are a mother, God has a special place for you in His heart. And He has a job for you. Because, you see, whether or not you realize it, you have an impact on the rest of us, and I don’t just mean the guys.

What I want to do today is to visit with you about how you ladies in general impact our world. And I’m going to do that using a very familiar passage of Scripture from Proverbs 31, verses 10-31, which my favorite woman read to you earlier in the service.

When I asked Debra to read that for you, her response was, “Yeah right, like I’m the wife of noble character.” To which I replied, “No, you’re the wife of Brian La Croix.”

Now before you start to panic and think I’m about to throw out a bunch of idealistic ideas about how to be the perfect woman or mother, you can just relax.

My plan today is to just give you some general principles that you can implement in your life, in order to become a woman of noble character.

We read a lot about the need for men to be men of character. And God knows we need men to step up to the plate and be men of godly character.

But what might get missed in all that is the need for women of godly character, whether married or single. We need women who reflect a love for God and His creation.

Our passage today gives us some insight on what a woman of noble character looks like.

My comments will be generally directed toward mothers, but you need to recognize something as we progress through the message: you can implement each of our main points into your own life, whether or not you are a mother.

A Woman of Noble Character…

1. Has a good head on her shoulders.

Listen as I read some of the characteristics listed in Proverbs 31:

• She selects good materials for her work.