Priceless!

“Priceless!”

Proverbs 31:10-31

Motherhood – nothing to it, right? Just think about all we know concerning it. Consider these answers given by elementary-age children to the following questions. “Why did God make mothers?” “Mostly to clean the house.” “To help us out of there, when we were getting born.” “How did God make mothers?” “God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.” “Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?” “We’re related.” “God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s Moms like me.” “Why did you Mom marry your Dad?” “My grandma says that Mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.” “What’s the difference between Moms and Dads?” “Dads are taller and stronger, but Moms have all the real power ‘cause that’s who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.” “If you could change one thing about you Mom, what would it be?” “I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.” Motherhood - nothing to it, right?

Or consider what we know from an ancient wise king in Proverbs. Good mothers sew, make clothes, buy and prepare food, rise up before dawn, buy property, plant and tend gardens and vineyards, trade profitably, clean the house, teach with wisdom, and love their work. Motherhood - nothing to it, right?

Ruth Hampton once wrote, “The most influential position in the nation today is held by a woman. She enforces law, practices medicine, and teaches – without degree, certificate of competence, o=r required training. She handles the nation’s food, administers its drugs, and practices emergency first aid. This for all the spiritual, physical, and mental ills of the American family. A man literally places his life and the lives of his children in the hands of this woman – his wife.” Motherhood - nothing to it, right?

So just what can we say about motherhood? For that matter, what can we say about what it means to be a godly mother, and a godly woman? A clearer understanding Scripture can guide us, so we turn to Proverbs 31, where we see, first of all, THE COST OF A GODLY WOMAN. Verse 10 reminds us that such a woman is A RARE FIND. “A wife of noble character who can find?” While the text talks about a wife, the bottom line is that it is about to describe a godly woman who has become a wife and mother. So what we are about to consider applies to all women. The word ‘noble’ means virtuous or fine. When applied to men it means valor. Such valorous women, says the king, are rare.

In fact, they ARE PRICELESS. “She is worth far more than rubies.” Perhaps you recall the television ads for a certain credit card. It would picture a certain product and show the price – say $50.00. Then it would show something else and a higher price, and then something else and a still higher price. Then it would show some lovely scene along with a picture of the credit card and say “Priceless.” In Proverbs 31 the king is showing a picture of a noble wife and saying “Priceless.” She is a cut above the rest. We cannot place a value on such a woman.

But what makes her priceless? What does she do that is so invaluable? Over the years the media has attempted to portray the good wife and mother. We’ve seen the evolution from Donna Reed, to Margaret Anderson of Father Knows Best, to Marion Cunningham of Happy Days, to Caroline Ingalls of “Little House on the Prairie, to June Lockhart of Lassie, to Shirley Partridge of The Partridge Family, to Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch, to Lily Munster, to Claire Huxtable, to Livia of The Sopranos, to The Good Wife, to Desperate Housewives, to Real Housewives. But the king shows a different portrayal as he points to THE CHARACTER OF A GODLY WOMAN. (11-12) “Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” She is a good HELPMATE. In the creation account in Genesis we learn that God created us male and female, both from his divine breath. That means we are similar, yet different. He put different wiring inside of us; He created us to be complementary. The woman, says Genesis, is therefore to be a helpmate to complete the man, to do what the man cannot do, to be for him what he cannot be for himself. So the king points out that the godly wife’s husband trusts her (11), benefits from her (12), is affirmed by her (12), and reaches his full potential because of her (23). The renowned preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick paid tribute to his wife. He said that he had wondered throughout his life why women – though equal or superior to men in brains – had not achieved the public accomplishments of men. Responding to his own question, he said, “At last I know the answer. No woman ever had a wife!” The godly woman is a good helpmate.