How To Praise A Woman

“How to Praise a Woman”

Proverbs 31:10-31

INTRO

A man was walking along a California beach and stumbled across an old lamp. He picked it up, rubbed it - and out popped a genie. The genie said, “Ok. You released me from the lamp .. blah, blah. This is the 4th time this month and I’m getting a little sick of these wishes, so you can forget about 3. You only get one wish.”

The man thought about it for a while and said, “I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I’m scared to fly and I get very sea sick. Could you build me a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over there to vacation?”

The genie laughed and said, “That’s impossible. Think of the logistics of that feat! How would the supports ever reach the bottom of the Pacific ocean? No, think of another wish.”

The man thought about it and said, “I’ve been married and divorced 4 times. My wives always said that I don’t care and that I’m insensitive. So, I wish that I could understand women .. to know how they feel and what they’re thinking.”

The genie said, “You want that bridge with 2 lanes or 4?”

Well men may not understand women, but one thing we do know is that women like to be praised, and to feel loved. But we all know that even though men possess this knowledge, they don’t use it as often as they should. So today, ladies, I’m going to be your advocate and preach a sermon I’ve titled, “How to Praise a Woman.”

Let’s read Prov 31:10-31

Guys, would you like to have a wife who’s a 10? Well, how about a 12? See, I’m gonna give you 12 things from this text to think about. Now listen, I don’t want you to grade your wife. We all know that 10s are unrealistic, and so are 12s. Just remember, you’re not exactly perfect either.

And likewise, ladies, I sure don’t want you feeling guilty if you don’t meet all 12 of these. I doubt that anyone does - for the Proverb gives us the picture of an ideal woman. That’s hard to live up to!

The point is that when you find something praise-worthy, you should give praise. Phil 4:8 ends by saying, “if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” If you can praise your wife, your mother, anyone .. for anything, you should.

Likewise, kids, you ought to praise your mom .. your grandmother .. your aunt .. or any woman in the church, for any of these virtuous qualities she possesses.

So here’s the list - 12 qualities that are praise-worthy when you find them.

#1 - v. 11 - “The heart of her husband trusts in her.”

I wonder, how many of you praise your wife (or your mom) because you find her to be someone you can trust. In fact, not only can you trust Mom to get something done, but she always has a way of doing it before you ever think about it.

Moms have a 6th sense. How many times have you said, “Honey, can you ...” and she just waits for you to finish and says, “I already took care of it.” She does that because she is trustworthy / dependable.

Guys, let me ask you something else that is related to having a wife you can trust. When was the last time you had to worry about your wife making eyes at some other man? You don’t do you! Because you can trust in her to remain committed to you.

And in doing so, you can also trust that she’s not out behind your back talking bad about you or hiding things from you. Trust is vital to a good relationship.

Hey, if the lady in your family is TRUSTWORTHY (put a flower in the vase) you should praise her.

#2 - v. 12 - “She does him good .. all the days of her life.”

That tells me 2 things I want to roll into this 1 point. First, if a wife does you good, that means she builds you up. And let me tell you, we all know that we’re not always worthy of all the good comments they bestow upon us. Women have that unique way of telling their husbands and their children exactly what they both need to hear, and want to hear. Indeed, they build us up and do us good.

Moms are the only people in the world who could watch their husband or their kids mess something up terribly and still smile and say, “But you sure looked good anyway.”

Second, if a wife does you good all the days of her life, that means she is a close companion to you. Hey, an excellent wife .. an excellent mother .. is also an excellent companion you love to spend time with.