Is Mom a Superhero?
Proverbs 31:10–31 NKJV
Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Today is the Sunday in which we honor our mothers. Some will still be able to tell their mother how much she means to him/her. Others will have to remember their mothers who have gone on. It is altogether proper that we take this time to honor our mother. After all, The bible does just say to honor your father. We have a day for that. But the commandment says to honor your father and your mother. We would not be here if our mothers had not given birth to us. And we would not have prospered if she had not borne with us, even in difficult times.
We read a well-known passage from Proverbs this morning, a passage often read for Mother’s Day or at the funeral of a mother. It is the story of an exceptional woman, a wife and a mother. In all her efforts to raise her son, Lemuel, she sacrificed her time and effort to care for her household. We can read of a few of her exploits. She got up before sunrise to prepare food for her family. Not only that, it says her lamp does not go out at night. This mother was an excellent planner. She god food for the family from afar. She did not idle herself at any time. In this, she would have fit John Wesley’s idea of the perfect woman, seeing how much that he hated people who idled away their time. She spent time making fine clothes for her family. In those days, it was very laborious to make clothing. The thread had to be spun, then weaved, then dyed, then cut to fit. This alone would be exhausting work. Not only this, she also ran a business to help provide for her family. she spent time in moral and religious instruction for her family. She purchased real estate. She was of the most trustful character. Truly, she was a woman who was far more valuable than rubies.
Where can we find a woman like that. For John Wesley, his mother Susanna came close to fitting the bill. She was the wife of an Epworth pastor of modest means. when we also think she had something like 19 children, we can only think how busy her life was. Even though some of the children died young, she raised several children into adulthood, three of whom entered the ministry. She took individual time to teach the Christian faith to her children. We can also think of the household chores. She must have been an excellent manager of the household. So we do have some examples for women superheroes and the influences they had on their households, and in the case of Susanna Wesley, an influence that changed the world through John and Charles Wesley.
We live in a world today in which women are expected to keep the household as well as pursue a career to help support her family. In too many cases, they have to do this as single mothers. The life of the modern woman seems overwhelming. We do have some assistance from technologies, and we can buy clothing at the store rather than having to have her spend the time making them. But the day of the modern mother starts before daylight and ends well after sunset. This can lead to burnout and exhaustion.
As good as it is to see such an example as was set by the Proverbs 31 woman, we need to take some caution. It is hard to live up to being an example of a superhero. Such a high standard is expected of mothers that these mothers feel inadequate and failures because they cannot live up to the expectations. Perhaps we can be guilty of putting the perfect woman on a pedestal as though she is either a superhero or a god. In truth, superheroes are myths found in comic books. But even superheroes have their Achilles heel. It is said that the myth called “Superman” could be defeated by kryptonite. As good as the Proverbs 31 woman was, she was not perfect. I would be the last to find fault, but the Bible says we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Susanna Wesley was indeed an excellent mother of extraordinary abilities. But she was human as well.
What I am saying is that while we honor our mothers, we must remember that they are/were human as well. We don’t spend the day picking faults, but we are doing them no favor by not recognizing that they have/had faults as well. So, we need to be gracious to them, realizing they are subject to breaking down under the burden.
So how should we honor our mothers? For those of us whose mothers have gone on, there is nothing more we can do but honor their memory and reflect on the positive things they did for us while forgiving her failures. But for those whose mothers are still alive, we can honor them by doing as well as praising them with our lips. Mothers need a lot of emotional and physical support. We show this in part today when the men of the church cooked breakfast for the mothers. But the trials of motherhood is a 365 day a year labor. Children can support their mothers by doing their chores and being obedient. They can also be frugal in their wants. Remember the labor a working woman has to endure to even provide the basic needs of the family. So children should be thankful for the extras she provides. Likewise, husbands need to emotionally support their wives and equally carry the burdens of caring for a family. This is far better than taking one Sunday a year to give lip service.
The church can help give mothers support by programs such as Mother’s Day out programs to help provide rest and refreshment to the weary mom. We need to look after their spiritual development that they might be encouraged and strengthened by the Word of God. Older and experienced mothers can help the new mothers. We can have support groups for them. We can take responsibility to help in the spiritual development of her children, and her husband. These are just some of the ways in which we can be of help. If we will strengthen the mothers, they will be in better position to strengthen us as well. The church as a mother needs to care and provide for her daughters.
When we remember our mothers, let us take time to remember the Lord as well, the Lord who created us male and female and called us to be fruitful and multiply. Men and women have their assigned roles. The men are called to jobs which require heavy labor, to protect the family from harm, and to risk losing life and limb in times of war. The women have to deal with the dangers of bearing children. The tasks of the household need to be equally divided, but each to do the takes to which they have been properly fitted.
We also remember that it is the LORD who established marriage between a man and a women to complement each other and to provide support for their family. There is far too much divorce for the most casual of reasons. This leaves mothers to perform both the tasks of a father and a mother. I am not saying that there isn’t a time for divorce, such as violence and endangerment in the home. But this should be a last resort. Children from home with both a father and a mother are shown to be more well-adjusted and able to thrive than those from single parent homes. This does not mean that every child from a two-parent family thrives or that someone from a single parent home does not beat the odds and thrives. But the sensible thing is to employ our best strategy for the raising of children.
We must also realize that the children need to be properly instructed in Scripture in the ways of the Lord. this is the responsibility of both parents. It is the father’s duty to see this happens, although if the mother is the better teacher, well. Let it happen. It is easy to neglect this when we are so overwhelmed with business (busy-ness). We must not let the cares of this world choke out this responsibility. We must organize and prioritize. The children deserve this, and the Lord Jesus commands it.
Let me finish this morning by thanking the moms who have had a vital role in making us who we are even as we remember the Lord who has used them to strengthen us.
