Mother's Day

Mother’s Day 2011

Text: Proverbs 31:10 – 31

By: Ken McKinley

Well today is Mother’s Day, the day when families pay special tribute to their moms in various ways. We take them out to dinner, or buy them special gifts… but the sad thing is that often times Mother’s Day is really just a time when families try to atone for an entire year of neglect and disrespect, and for a lack of appreciation. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is.

Now most people agree, whether they are Christians or not, that we are living in a post-Christian era; that doesn’t mean that the Church is dead, or that Christianity is dead, what it means is that the influence that Biblical Christianity once had on our nation and our culture has diminished to a point where it wouldn’t be recognized by Christians 100 – 200 years ago. And that includes morality, education, social action, and maybe, most importantly, parenting.

Basically what’s happened is that secular humanistic reasoning has taken the place of Biblical truth when it comes to setting the parameters for the home and family. By contrast; a Christian should be one who sees the home, and marriage, and parenting as framed within the parameters of God’s infallible and authoritative Word (The Bible). And the truth of God’s Word should not only shape our beliefs and practices in all areas of life, but they are absolutes that guide us through life. And so our opinions and beliefs are only legitimately Christian, to the degree that they line up with God’s Word. The problem is that today, our minds have been darkened by secularism and sin, and a lot of folks can’t tell if something is Biblical or secular at all.

We expect that from the world, but we’re actually seeing the same thing within the Church as well. The trend that we’re seeing in the Church is that church folks are acknowledging the sufficiency of God and the Bible, but they fail to see a need to subject their personal opinions, reasoning, and emotions to the guidelines of Scripture in all areas of life, including what happens in the home. We read something like Romans 12:2 which says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” And we think that only applies to our moral behavior, but not to things like marriage, or raising kids. Instead; we leave those things up to pop psychologists and talk show hosts. But, ALL of our relationships should be directed by the truth of Scripture, whether its education, finances, political involvement, our jobs, our marriages, or parenting.

Having said all that, please turn with me to Proverbs 31:10 – 31 (READ).

Now before I get into this passage; two points of random knowledge. Verses 10 – 31 are an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew. In-other-words, in the literal Hebrew language, each verse begins with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet, in order. Isn’t God cool? Secondly; the word or phrase that’s translated as “virtuous” in the NKJV, or “Of noble character” in the NIV is the Hebrew word “chayil” which literally means “strength and valor, and in all ways excellent.” Throughout the Bible this word is translated as able or capable 8 times, it’s translated as strength 10 times and as valiant over 40 times. And basically it refers to moral strength, integrity and efficiency.

Now as we look through these verses, we get a good understanding of what the writer meant by “virtuous.” I personally see at least 5 qualities there… there might be more, but I see five.

1. If you look at verses 11, 12 and 23, you’ll see that she is trustworthy and devoted. She has her husband’s confidence, and she enhances his reputation.

2. She is a woman of diligence and wisdom. We see that in verses 13 – 19. She’s not afraid to work, she’s a wise shopper, and she plans ahead.

3. She is a giving person. Verse 20 says that she extends her hand to the poor. In other words, she has planned ahead well enough to be able to not only take care of the family’s needs, but also the needs of the poor in her society.

4. She is dependable. We see that in verses 15, 21, 27. When adversity comes, be it bad weather, or something else… you know she’s already got a plan to deal with whatever it might be.

5. And lastly; she is a woman who loves the Lord. We see that by reading all the verses of our text. She is someone who is guided and directed by God’s Word and God’s wisdom.

Now ladies, you might read through that and say to yourselves, “This isn’t describing a woman, its describing Super Woman!” And that’s actually a pretty good assessment. It’s describing a woman who is living in a supernatural way with a supernatural God. And it has to be that way because there are few things that are more important to society than godly mothers. The Bible is clear in its teachings, both explicit and implicit, that the family is the foundation of society. And while fathers are responsible for the way the family goes, mothers are the glue that holds the family together.