Rev. David Holwick Mother's Day
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
May 12, 1987
Proverbs 31 - Mom
Proverbs 31:10-31, KJV
The popularity of motherhood goes in cycles. A few years back the last thing a woman was supposed to want, was to be a mother. Who wanted whiny kids and the drudgery of housework? So millions of women liberated themselves and got real jobs. Real jobs are exciting and fulfilling.
Already the pendulum has swung back. Thousands of women who began careers are now starting families. Women's magazines are filled with articles on the joy of having babies in your forties. This cycle is nothing new.
Seventy years ago motherhood was sacred. Or, almost. At that time the movement to establish Mother's Day was in full swing. Motherhood was equated with the flag and apple pie. This was an age of sentimentality and they really poured it on thick for Mom. Nothing was too good for her.
If you've ever read Mother's Day cards from this period they can best be described as worshipful. But even back then motherhood could be put down and mocked. Listen to the lyrics of this popular song, which was written way back in 1919:
DON'T SWAT YOUR MOTHER, BOYS
Homeward to their mother
Two working men did come
Weary with their honest toil
And lighted up with rum.
Supper was not ready.
One aimed a brutal blow
Till, the blue-eyed baby stopped them,
Saying, "Brother's", don't do so.
Chorus:
Don't swat your mother, cause she's old!
Don't mop the floor with her face.
Think how her love is a treasure of gold,
Shining through shame and disgrace.
Don't put the rocking chair into her eye
Don't bounce the lamp off her bean!
Angels are watching you up in the sky,
Don't swat your mother, it's mean!
Mothers just never get any respect. Of course, this song was written with tongue-in-cheek. But, unfortunately, motherhood is usually taken for granted, if not mocked. They never get comments when the meal is on time, just when it's not.
That's the best reason for having a Mother's Day. It gives us an opportunity to focus on the sacrifices of those who raised us. And we not only focus on it, we let them know.
Today's passage is the best on motherhood in the Bible because it talks about their character, role and motivation. The passage begins with the famous phrase - "Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies." Virtuous here means noble, the kind of person you look up to.
There are other possibilities for a mother's character. Verse 30 mentions charm and good looks. This would be the kind of mother we call an "airhead." The Bible does not put much stock in superficial beauty. The preferable kind is the inner beauty mentioned in verse 25.
Instead of designer clothes, the Biblical mom has strength and honor, or what we would call dignity. The strength that is talked about is not the ability to bench-press 150 lbs., although this would come in handy for many household chores. It is the strength that carries her through disasters and disappointments. Despite popular TV shows that make family life sound hunky-dory, most mothers will have to face tragedy at one point or another. Inner strength is what keeps them from falling apart. More than this, it is often a mother's strength that holds an entire family together.
This is the character of a Biblical mother. The role of a mother also receives much attention in Proverbs 31 and it covers areas that may surprise us. First there are the normal activities:
Verse 13 and 19 describe how she provides her family with clothes. Verse 14 deals with buying food and preparing it.
It's verse 16 that stands out: "She considers a field and buys it, with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard." The Biblical mom is a real estate agent. That's not unusual today, but few people associate jobs like this with women in the Bible. Nevertheless, Proverbs 31 describes a woman who is engaged in a wide variety of activities, both in and out of the home.
The "working mother" is nothing new. It wasn't invented in the 1980's and it wasn't started by World War II. Mothers have always worked. Maybe it is new for them to move into male-dominated areas like real estate, but women have always done some work on the side to help provide for their families. If a woman wants to work outside the home, more power to her. If she wants to work in the home, that's just as biblical. God's Word contains many options for women and it's wrong to put down women who choose one over the other. Mother's have always worked and they've always worked hard. In some ways I think their work is easier than it used to be. Consider laundry. Celeste can barely keep up with the four of us, using a washer and dryer. Yet some of your mothers washed clothes by hand, for eleven kids. I can't imagine how they did it. There's good reason why verse 17 says: "She girds her loins with strength, and stengtheneth her arms."
In other ways mothers work harder than they ever have. With all the new roles they take on the old ones still stick around. Mothers still have to raise perfect children, keep the house spotless, prepare appetizing meals - in shifts - get the kids to the multitude of after school programs, and still have time for a job, church, recreation and keeping their husband happy. It's a lot of hard work to be a mother. Erma Bombeck says, "Moms needs six hands and three pairs of eyes. One pair sees through closed doors ... .so when they say 'Nothing's going on', she knows exactly what's going on." As my wife is fond of saying, "You just don't know what it's like" (always followed by a deep sigh).
It has been called the problem of Super-Mom and I suppose Proverbs 31 contributes to it. This passage is talking about an ideal and one that is not that easy to reach. Perhaps the most endearing quality of most mothers is that they're human. They stretch themselves too thin, they make mistakes and you love them anyway. Verse 26 says: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness."
The mistakes in life make the best education and I think that is why mothers are so wise. Moms also have the advantage of being people-oriented. Fathers can be preoccupied with things, like cars and careers. Moms don't have this luxury. They deal with people on an intimate basis day in and day out.
The law of kindness mothers impart is very special! The word "kindness" in Hebrew is "hesed." It means sacred love or faithfulness. It also carries the idea of singe-minded devotion. Mothers are able to teach it because they have to live it.
The greatest attribute a mother can have is mentioned last. It's called godliness. As verse 30 says, "Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."
The mother is usually the greatest spiritual influence in a family's life. Maybe it shouldn't be that way, but it is. Many of you are probably sitting in church today because you had a mother who taught you to pray, dressed you for church, and shared with you stories about Jesus. Thank God for her! And honor the mothers among us today.
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Typed on February 19, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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