An Excellent Mother and Her Beneficiaries

It seems fitting, while a little cliche, that we turn our attention to Proverbs 31 this morning. We look at just these two verses because I know that not everyone here is a mother. However, these two verses offer advice on how we, as disciples of Christ can honor the mothers in our lives as well as how God’s word describes an excellent Mother.

We begin with addressing the children. How should they approach their mother?

Children

There are two commands for the children regarding how they are to treat their mother. The first is to rise up. I think there are a couple of ways that we should consider when rising up. There is a sense of a healthy pride. “Yes, that’s my mom!” Obviously, the scriptures speak a great deal against pride of oneself but in this case, I believe it to be a good and healthy thing when express appreciation for our mother. Ultimately, this comes across in speaking well of her.

This is something I don’t know that we always do well at. How often do you tell your mother what it is that you appreciate about her? We ought to make an intentional effort in telling our mothers what we appreciate about them and why it is specifically that we are thankful that they are in our lives.

We also ought to rise up and speak well to others about our mothers. In this case, the fifth commandment comes to mind: honor your father and mother. While I’m not disillusioned enough to think that each person here has a perfect mother, I have heard far too often people, myself included here (Mom, I hope you’re not watching) speak ill of their mother. We ought to rise above that temptation and brag on our mothers. Speak more of the wonderful memories of years gone by

I mentioned the second command for children in part earlier: call her blessed. The idea here of being blessed has to do with both happiness as well as success.

We have to keep this within the context of the chapter which states in verse 10, “An excellent wife, who can find?”

Husbands

There is one command given to the husbands here: “Her husband praises her.” Men, you should be your wife’s biggest cheerleader. For those that have seen the Rocky movies, it was Mickey who stood in Rocky’s corner and cheered him on. In between rounds he would take care of him and tell him the areas he was doing well and where he needed progress.

The husband ought to be the training in the corner that his wife can look to when things get difficult. Men, do you build your wife up. And I’m not talking about backhanded compliments about her cooking or anything like that. I’m talking about legitimate praise for the areas she’s doing well. She should know that she can turn to you to be built up and praised. But this praise comes in more forms than just verbal.

We should also praise our wives in action and build them up. What I’m talking about is going out of your way to ensure that she is successful. Does it seem as though work is stressing her out? What are you doing to support her? Would it build her up if cleaned the house?

What about building her up spiritually? Do you pray with your wife? Do you read the bible together and discuss matters of God? This is not a sermon about men, but you have a responsibility as the man of the house to lead your wife well! Build her up. Encourage her. And lead her well.

Finally, we need to turn our attention to mothers. It is, after all, mother’s day.

Mothers

We have to keep this within the context of the chapter which states in verse 10, “An excellent wife, who can find?” We are talking about excellence here. Now, verse 28 is not meant to put down other women. Instead, I want to spend our remaining time talking about excellence. Now, what comes before this verse spends a great deal of time describing what makes an excellent wife. But I’d like to turn our attention to Deuteronomy 6. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

An excellent mother is one who desire, above all else, that her children know the truth of the gospel. Be a representative of Jesus to them. Make sure that they hear you speak about the things of God as well as do them. Let them know how much you love His word not just by telling them but allowing them to see you with your bible open and your head bowed as you meditate on His truths.

Of course, Deuteronomy 6:7 is not solely directed at mothers, but it is, in my opinion what God’s word signifies as an excellent mother. For both the young and the old, what causes you to stand out in the eyes of God is not merely cleaning the house or cooking a good meal. It’s not folding laundry perfectly or setting up a good schedule. The excellence of a mother is instilling the truth of God in those that are around you.

Our response time is a going to be a little different this morning. If you are a mother, I want you to remain seated. For everyone else, I’d like for you to stand up and gather around your mother or a mother who is here and is loved and cherished.

We won’t have any music this morning but instead I want to offer a challenge to each person.

For the children, both young and old, rise up and call her blessed.

For the husband, may you be the support that she is in need of!

And finally, for the mother, may you live with excellence that surpasses the standard of the world!