THE QUALITIES OF THE MILLENIUM MOM (PIL)

(Proverbs 31:10-31)
A Message by Rev Irene Lim on 14th May 2000
 
Happy Mother’s Day!

Picture Source: www.wonderfulcliparts.com

The Jews have a sweet saying that “God could not be everywhere, so He made mothers.”

Certainly you mothers appreciate the truth in that statement – and the rest of us as well, for we’ve seen you in action. Washington Irving wrote, “The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes – it never tires – it endures through all, in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on.”

The house is dull and cold when mother is absent. Her presence means comfort, joy, help and love.

Mothers deserve to be honored throughout our lives. It is a shame that we only reserve one day out of the year to honor you. Today, as we mark that day, we do honor and salute you.

A store, providing suitable gifts for those who love the best, put out this acrostic of mother:

Thank you mothers, for your love and sacrifices.

We can’t deny the fact that mothers of the new millennium face a lot of challenges. The challenges to pursue your career, climbing the corporate ladder, temptations to fight for parental rights; to advocate and relinquish child rearing to professionals. There are voices constantly remind you that motherhood is not important, your financial security must come first. Unless the new millennium mom knows what she wants in life, she may be not have the sense of directions in life. There is a woman or a mom in the Bible who knows what she wants in life. This wise mom is found in Proverbs 31:10-31

The book of Proverbs concludes with an epilogue, an impressive acrostic poem honoring the wife of noble character. She demonstrates, and thus epitomizes, many of the qualities and values identified with wisdom throughout the book. In view of the fact that Proverbs is primarily addressed to young men on the threshold of mature life, this focus on the wife of noble character appears surprising. But its purpose may be:

(1) to offer counsel on the kind of wife a young man ought to seek
(2) in a subtle way to advise the young man to marry Lady Wisdom (9:1-2) thus returning to the theme of Chs. 1-9.

In any event, the concluding epitomizing of wisdom in the wife of noble character forms a literary frame with the opening discourses, where wisdom is personified as a woman.

Though the book of Proverbs was written in so many centuries ago, and the wife of noble character lived in a different era than us, but the principles in God’s Word never changes.

What are the qualities that the wise mom has and how can we apply these qualities to our lives in the new millennium?

I.     The Millennium Mom Lives for Her Home and Her Family
v.10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. She is a commendable wife and mother because she is a wife of noble character. “Noble” means “having or showing high moral qualities or ideals or greatness of character.”

1.   She Honors Her Husband
v.11 The husband has full confidence in her
v.12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

Being a good mother is a high and holy calling. But being a good wife is a higher and most holy vocation. The center of the family is the married couple. Husband and wife need to stress the primary role of the married woman, being a wife.

A noble wife knows that the Bible makes it clear that woman was created for man (Gen. 2:18). She also understands that the wife’s primary concern is to be someone who is a help to her husband (Gen. 2:18). She is a helper to her husband physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. She submits to her husband as to the Lord. According to Eph. 5:22, it is within the atmosphere of delightful harmony that a wife is best able to know and respect herself so much, she has little difficulty giving herself to her husband. In such a home there isn’t a struggle for authority or rights. There is a willingness to release the control. The wife’s submission manifests itself in lowliness, meekness, patience, forbearance in love, and eagerness to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2,3) but also in reverence for her husband as her head.

2.   She Takes Good Care of Her Family
A wise mother will not trade anything for building a Godly home. Motherhood is highly regarded in the Bible. The Bible is so full of admonitions regarding motherhood, and the influence of Godly mothers as they endeavor to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord, thereby making a wholesome and substantial contribution to human society.

But it is not surprising to see that our society puts down the role of motherhood.

Dr. James Dobson in “Focus on the Family” on May 1991 said:

Many mothers today are floundering because they lack a vision of their role and its enormous potential. Although the media often portrays stay-at-home moms in a negative light, mothers need to believe in the positive influence they can have in their children’s lives.

Mothers who are truly committed to the task of being mothers have been disrespected and ridiculed for years. Many mothers let that negative propaganda get to them, and go to great lengths to cast themselves in the “supermom” mould that is honored and respected by our society. They throw themselves into demanding careers that they really have no financial need for, and they sacrifice the privileged task of being godly, influential mothers in the process.

I’m not denying that many mothers have no choice but to work in order to support their families; but if God has given you the privileged opportunity of being financially able to stay home with your children, don’t let society talk you out of it. It’s the most meaningful thing you can do, and it’ll produce rewards that will last far longer that anything any of us can ever do working at a one of the world’s so-called “real jobs”.

Dr. James Dobson continues to say “Mothers can gain encouragement from looking to another era to see what people said about mothers. Books from the turn of the century often described them as the most powerful influence in a child’s life: Spiritual adviser, earliest teacher, loving nurturer. Mother is, as one author put it, ‘a moulder of men’.

He stresses that “It isn’t too late to restore the fine art of motherhood to its time-honored position in our society. In spite of the current cultural hostility, lack of support from many husbands, and incredible pressure inside and outside the home, a real mom will continue to affirm the importance of motherhood.”

One very articulate lady defended the importance of motherhood this way. When asked, in a condescending way, what she did for a living, she responded, “I am socializing two Homo Sapiens in the dominant values of the Judaeo-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformation of the social order into the teleological prescribed utopia inherent in the eschaton, and what do you do?”

For those who need a simpler version, “I’m raising two children to be salt and light so that they will be prepared for the Kingdom that is coming.” Mothers, we are raising God’s mighty army for the coming generations. We are not only baby-sitting our children, we are raising Godly and loving husbands and wives for the new millennium.

II.    The Millennium Mom Lives for Others
v.15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family; and portions for her servant girls.
v.20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
v.21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

A wise mom is one who is dead to her “old self”, just like this woman of noble character who is constantly giving and never grows weary in well doing whether it is towards her husband, her children, her neighbors or her servant girls. Only when we die to our selfish nature then we know how to live for others.

1.   She Lives For Her Children and Her Husband
A wise mom is willing to live for her children because she recognizes that half of everything an individual learns they learn in the first four years of their life.

85% of born again believers accepted the Lord between the ages of 5 and 10.

Since most of our parents are non-Christians, they do not know about Godly motherhood and they can’t impart the Christian values to us. But we have become the first generation Christians in Malaysia, we need to impart to our next generation (if the Lord tarries) the importance of Christian motherhood. It is ashamed if we do not know how to live for our children and bring them up in the fear of the Lord.

Mothers, I want to encourage you today to commit and recommit yourselves to the privileged tasks God has entrusted you with. The task of building a home according to the plan of Proverbs 24:3-4: “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge passed on to your children, so that they might build their lives on a foundation that is sufficient for all their needs.

They were once four scholars who were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beautiful, eloquent old English. Another said he preferred the American Standard Bible for its literal treatment of the text. A third man preferred a translation called Moffatt translation because of its quaint, penetrating use of words. After giving the issue further thought, the fourth scholar said, “I have personally always preferred my mother’s translation.” When the other scholars chuckled, he responded, “Yes she translated it. She translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I ever saw.”

Mothers, in living for our children, we are to remind ourselves of three important tasks:

2.   To Witness
Deut. 6:20-25 All of us would agree that God commands us as Christians to carry his word to the rest of the world – both through our lives and through our spoken words of witness. When our children come to us with questions about God, church life, sin, whatever -TELL THEM!

The answer God tells us to give here is not a patronizing, simplistic answer – it’s not a “watered-down” version of the real truth. God commands that we be straightforward and unashamed in proclaiming to our children EXACTLY what God has done for US, and what he can do for THEM!

3.   To Instruct

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

We live in an “Information Age”. Everywhere we turn and everywhere our children turn – we are bombarded with information, teaching, advertisements, ideas, facts, news, figures some good, some bad – all of which goes into our brains. The world is seeking to “raise up” our children. We must respond therefore by training them up in the CORRECT way. Because, whether we like it or not, we are our children’s primary source of information. And MOTHERS especially, please realize the POWER you have in this area, in teaching the child and instilling LIFELONG values and ideas and information in your child’s life. Don’t just teach our children how to avoid the WRONG way; teach them how to FIND the RIGHT way.

4.   To Pray

And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided. (I Chron. 29:19)

David prayed that God would do one simple thing for Solomon: “Give him a single mind,” or “a perfect heart.” Give him a mind and heart, a personality, that is UNDIVIDED, WHOLLY devoted to God. He also prayed that Solomon would indeed be able to “keep the Lord’s statutes and commandments and decrees” and “perform” all of them and to “build the temple” that is, to do the work which God has called him to do.

Parents must pray for our children in a powerful, specific, heartfelt way – praying that God will watch over them and meet their SPECIFIC needs and hurts. Parents are to pray for their children whether they are young or old. They are to pray that God will give that child a “perfect heart,” an “undivided mind,” a will that is totally submitted to God. And that he will grow up with a commitment to keep the Lord’s commands and to truly do the SPECIFIC work which God has in store for him or her.

5.   She Lives For Others
v.20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
v.26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is one her tongue.

The wife of noble character does not only care for her own family, she takes care of the poor and the needy. She is not selfish to care for her own needs only. She is wise in her speech and does not gossip. She is always encouraging, bringing love and hope to others.

III.   The Millennium Mom Lives For God
What makes this woman of noble character stands out as the perfect pattern for women of every age and every nation? Here we see a woman who uses her time wisely, who richly provides for the growing needs of her family. She continuously seeks to build her spiritual resources so as to prepare for any emergency. We see too, a woman who shows skill in all her household tasks, who aids the needy, who guards her tongue, and who has dignity of character. Because of all these qualities her husband “is known in the gates,” and her children call her blessed. What is the secret of her outstanding character?

Her secret lies in that she fears the Lord.

v.30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

What is the “fear of the Lord”?
1.   Emotional fear cause by being scared
2.   Reverential fear

of God, as a controlling motive of the life, in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him, a fear which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence (Rom.8:15), and which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God, through the indwelling Spirit .

of superior (Rom.13:7)
Fearing God involves more than emotion. It involves having our will to be in complete submission and total surrender to God. By not surrendering our will to God is sinning against God. The Hebrew word has different ways to describe “sin”. These are: “Pesha” (transgression), awon (perversion), hatah (miss the mark).

Pesha (transgression) means rebellion. This is one of the strongest Hebrew words used to describe sin in the O.T. It started in the Garden of Eden when Eve and Adam sinned against God. Since then rebellion was in the heart of man. Rebellion destroys God’s authority in our own lives, causing us to run our own lives. To fear God is to give the authority to God to rule in us. A wise mom would surrender her life to God and let God reigns in her life.

The woman of noble character has the noblest attributes of the wife and mother. She has the most perfect picture of the ideal woman. Her chastity, her charity, her earnestness, her love for her husband and children, even her business foresight are outstanding. But the light in all its effulgence shines upon her godliness. This quality, the Bible seems to say, is what gives her meaning, purpose, and direction to her life.

Conclusion

The book of Proverbs used the personification of a noble and wise woman to conclude the book. It brings the teaching of Proverbs that “The fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom to a climax. This noble woman “speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (v.26). In all her energetic activities she is guided by wisdom. She does not do things haphazardly. She plans wisely and prudently. She knows the value of time and the importance of making it counts for God. She is virtuous because she is spiritually minded.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day on this new millennium, may I ask all the mothers and everyone here, what do you want in life? What is your direction in life? What is your destiny?

To all the mothers, we must bear in mind that we are going to face a lot of challenges in this new millennium. Our marriage will be constantly under attack, our children are getting a lot of influences and it is going to be tough to raise them in the fear of Lord. We need God’s wisdom and help.

• Are we living for our home and our family?
• Are we living for others?
• Above all, are we living for God?

Many times we are not wise to make decision, could it be that we do not fear God?
Or is it that we do not fear God and submit our will to Him that we are making a lot of mistakes in our lives?
Why are we not having directions in life, could it be that we lack the fear of God and we don’t have wisdom to know what we want in life?

Let us remember, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.