“A Godly Woman”
Proverbs 31:10-31
David P. Nolte
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seek “Crabtree Christian Church”
This is Mothers Day and I wish every mother a very happy day!
Thomas Edison said, “I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me an influence which has lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I should never likely have become an inventor. I was always a careless boy, and with a mother of different mental caliber, I should have turned out badly. But her firmness, her sweetness, her goodness, were potent powers to keep me in the right path. My mother was the making of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.”
What a loving tribute to a mother. I want to point out some characteristics of a mother worthy of such a high tribute.
Let’s read words recorded by King Lemuel. Little is known about Lemuel except that his name means "devoted to God." Some believe that Lemuel was king of Massa in northern Arabia. He wrote some 400 years after Solomon had completed compiling Proverbs 1-28. He was a king who received very wise and insightful teachings from his mother which he wrote down and which comprises chapter 31.
Now let us look at what King Lemuel wrote. I will take his words in “patches” as we progress. What are the characteristics of a godly woman (and man)?
I. A GODLY WOMAN IS TRUSTWORTHY:
A. “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:10-12 (NASB).
1. She will always be faithful.
2. She will stick with him through thick or thin – for better or worse – in sickness and in health – in feast or in famine – come rain or come shine!
3. Though all others leave, fail, forsake or deceive him, she will be there by his side, and on, his side.
B. She is trustworthy and faithful and:
1. She does good not evil or harm. I knew a woman in Klamath Falls who hired thugs to harass her estranged husband and to make his life miserable. But none of that for the godly woman.
2. “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27 (NASB). I know a lady who, when her children were still at home, was perfectly content to lie on the couch issuing orders: “Bring me a sandwich!” “Get the laundry done!” and yakity-yakity-yak.
C. But the godly mother is in no way like that!
1. She does good, and provides for her household.
2. She seeks to serve rather than to be served.
D. This characteristic also applies to all of us in relation to Jesus Christ.
1. Does He find us trustworthy?
2. Is He pleased with our level of faithfulness?
3. Can He count on us in the crunch?
4. Can other people see our commitment to God by our lives?
5. Do other people see us walking our talk?
6. Can other people tell that our private life and our public life match?
E. Jesus made a profound statement about trustworthiness. "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.” Matthew 24:45-46 (NASB).
In that line, I have confession to make. While I attended Northwest Christian College, I was blessed with a job as dishwasher at the Timber Topper Buffet in Springfield. One slow night when we were pretty well caught up, I took the sprayer and shot my friend Jim York in the back. He grabbed a wet towel and threw it at me. I ducked and he hit the cook full in the face. Suddenly we quieted down and just in time because the boss arrived about 5 minutes later. Had he been earlier, we would have been busted and he would not have counted our antics as trustworthy behavior.
Godly woman is trustworthy and:
II. A GODLY WOMAN IS TIRELESS:
A. “She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.” (13-19). (That last part is translated in the NLT as, “Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.”). The text goes on, “She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.” (31:22). “She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.” (31:24). “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.” (31:27).
1. She is a tireless, diligent, energetic worker for the good of her loved ones.
2. She provides food, engages in real estate deals, plants a field, and weaves fabrics.
B. I was born when my mother was 45 years old. I well recall my mother sewing clothing, making laundry soap out of grease and lye, baking bread, fixing my Dad’s early morning breakfast of oatmeal or wheat hearts, packing his lunch with fried ham sandwiches, keeping up with housework, helping me do history homework and not complaining about it. Even into her late 60's she was a tireless servant to her family.
C. To those who fall short at this point, Johnny Mercer wrote these lyrics,
Lazybones, sleeping in the sun
How you 'spect to get your day's work done?
You'll never get your day's work done
Sleeping in the noonday sun
Lazy bones, sleeping in the shade
How you 'spect to get your cornmeal made?
You'll never get your corn meal made
Sleeping in the evening shade
Now when them 'taters need sprayin' I know you keep prayin'
That the bugs fall off their vine
And when you go fishing I bet you keep wishing
That the fish won't grab at your line
You know, lazybones, loafin' all the day
How you 'spect to make a dime that way?
You'll ever make a dime that way
You never hear a word I say
D. One would never say that about a godly mother who though often tired, still worked tirelessly!
1. Hopefully it can’t be said of you or me.
2. But hopefully it can be said of your service and my service for Christ and the church that we are tireless, persistent, unflagging, zealous and diligent!
3. The writer of Hebrews noted, “Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” Hebrews 6:11-12 (NLT2).
4. “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.” Hebrews 10:36 (NLT2).
E. Let me illustrate tireless service. You may already be familiar with the story surrounding the origins of the modern marathon. But in case you are not, the legend goes, after the badly outnumbered Greeks somehow managed to drive back the Persians who had invaded the coastal plain of Marathon, an Athenian messenger named Pheidippides was dispatched from the battlefield to Athens to deliver the news of Greek victory. After running about 25 miles to the Acropolis, he burst into the chambers and gallantly hailed his countrymen with “Victory! Victory! Rejoice, we conquer!” And then he promptly collapsed from exhaustion and died. But that was relentless, tireless fulfillment of duty.
A godly woman is tireless and:
III. A GODLY WOMAN IS TENDER-HEARTED:
A. “She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.” (20-21). “She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” (31:26).
B. Her heart is tender and she realizes that
1. She is her brother’s keeper.
2. She is responsible to share what she has with those who have not.
3. The hurts of others need to be her hurts.
4. What is hers is really God’s and she needs to use it unselfishly.
5. Real love goes beyond merely wishing someone well; it does something to promote it.
C. How is your heart?
1. Do you look at the homeless and down and outers with a hard heart that blames them for their situation and says, “You made your bed, now lie in it!”?
2. Do you say, “Charity begins at home and ends there as far as I am concerned.”?
3. Or does this fit you?
a. “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NLT2).
b. “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Colossians 3:12-13 (NLT2).
c. “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.” 1 Peter 3:8 (NLT2).
D. A godly woman is tenderhearted,, and so must we be. Take a look around you and you will surely find someone who needs you.
E. Bruce Ball, in a sermon, tells he following story of the contrast between hardheartedness and tenderheartedness. He used to frequent a local coffee shop and as he was going in one day, there was a middle-aged man sitting on the ground leaning up against the side of the building.
The man asked for a dollar so he could get some coffee. Bruce gave him a dollar, and then invited him to go in with him. There was only one seat at the counter and the man took it. Bruce went to a booth occupied by 3 of his friends.
When the waitress came for his order, he told her to give the man coffee and a full breakfast plate and give the ticket to him. His friends said he was crazy. Bruce noticed the man pouring water into his coffee to make it last longer. Bruce told the waitress to tell him he could have as much as he wanted. And when his breakfast came, he saw how he quickly he ate it and he could tell he was starving.
But he also noticed something else; something terrible. Right after he sat down, other customers got up and either moved, or left the restaurant altogether. No compassion. No love for a neighbor. Only selfish concern for themselves.
Perhaps all of us have acted like that at one time or another in our lives. And what we need to remember is what Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matthew 25:40 (NLT2).
Today we celebrate mothers who are trustworthy, tireless and tenderhearted. We not only celebrate them, we need to emulate them! And when we do, we will be a lot more like Jesus and the world will be a better place!
