May 9, 2004
Title: Mother’s Day: Quietly Faithful
Text: Proverbs 31:10-31
Introduction:
A man couldn’t decide what to get his wife for mother’s Day…she he wrote her this lovely poem:
M is for the mink coat you want, dear,
O is for the opal ring you crave,
T is for the tiny car you’d love to drive,
H is for the hat that makes you rave,
E is for the earrings you’d love to have,
R is for the Oriental rug on which you would tread;
Put them all together, they spell “bankrupt”,
So I’m giving you this handkerchief instead.
(from www.sermonillustrations.com)
1. Who are your heroes?
• Who do you look up to?
2. For many boys today their heroes are people like:
• Shaquille O’neal
• Kobe Bryant
• Eminem
• Warren Sapp
3. For many girls today, their heroes are people like:
• Brittany Spears
• My daughter, Amelia, likes Mary Kate and Ashley.
• Beyonce’
• Jennifer Lopez
• Christina Aguilera
4. Our heroes are flashy…
• They are the top of their profession…music, acting, or sports.
• They are rich…
• They are beautiful…
• They can shoot a basketball from the 3-point line at the last second and win the game…
• They got the moves…
• They look cool.
• Some of our heroes are supposedly considered “positive role-models”…
• But, many times, something happens…
• An illicit affair…
• A criminal offense…
• And suddenly, this person that people looked up to..
• This positive role-model…
• Is no longer so positive.
• My son Ethan likes Kobe Bryant…
• But then something happened…
• He may or may not have attacked a woman…
• Which will be decided by the courts…
• But, at the least, he was guilty of adultery.
• And, every once in awhile, Ethan asks me how that whole thing is going.
5. By comparison, our kids think we are so uncool…
• I remember being a nerd in school…
• But when I became an adult, I thought all that was behind me…
• But, now, all of a sudden, Kay and I find that we are “nerds” all over again.
• We don’t dress cool…
• We don’t act cool…
• “Mom…you’re not going to wear something to embarrass me when you come to pick me up at school are you?”
• “Clarice’s mom and dad are sooooo cool”
• “how come we don’t get to watch certain movies…all our friends at school do”
6. I realize that not all of you are in the same situation as we are, with young children at home…but maybe you have grandchildren in this age group…
• And I also what you to think about who you look up too…
• Clint Eastwood…
• Frank Sinatra…
• Humphrey Bogart…
• Pete Rose…
7. It is hard not to be drawn in by our heroes…
• But sometimes, I think we are drawn in by the wrong things…
• There is so much more than wealth…
• or good dance moves…
• or sex appeal…
• Or athletic ability.
8. Today is mother’s day…
• And I doubt that most of you had mothers who were professional athletes…
• Or singers…or actors…
• I doubt most of you had mother’s who were wealthy…
• Or had a perfect figure…
• Or a million dollar smile…
• Or wore the latest clothing styles out of Paris.
• But they had another quality that I want us to consider this morning…
• They were “quietly faithful”.
Read Text: Proverbs 31:10-31
1. First of all, I want you to notice that the Proverbs Woman was quietly faithful
A. Nowhere in the passage of Scripture does it talk about her wealth.
• It does say that she is worth far more than rubies…
• But that’s not referring to her material wealth…
• That refers to her value to the family.
• The Scripture doesn’t speak about her exquisite beauty…
• The Scripture doesn’t refer to her athletic ability…
• But what this passage of Scripture does describe…
• Is someone who was quietly faithful…
• She works hard taking care of her family…
• She gets up early…
• Stays up late…
• Ministering to the needs of others.
• She worked a second job…
• She made sure her family was clothed and fed.
• She kept the house up…
• Basically, she was quietly faithful…
• Day in…day out…
• Month in…month out…
• Year in…year out…
• She was working hard for her family…
• Faithfully taking care of those she loves so much.
2. Now, I want you to take a closer look at your own mom…
A. She may not have the figure that comes from 1,000’s of dollars of plastic surgery…
• But, if your mom that you’re thinking about is the woman who gave birth to you…
• Then you bear some of the responsibility for your mom’s figure!!
• Your mom may not have clothes of the latest fashions…
• She may not be famous…
• And rich…
B. But maybe there are some other things…
• Things like…taking care of you when you are sick…
• Things like…day in…day out…year after year after year…
• Taking care of you…
• Making sure you are fed and clothed…
• Taking care of the home…
• Perhaps even working in a job at the same time…
• Did she love the Lord?
• Did she have an impact on you spiritually?
• No, I doubt most moms are flashy…
• But is she faithful?
C. Ilion Jones writes: “One time, the New York Times was going to do a story on the 12 greatest women in the United States…
• And after great consideration…the editors of the newspaper wrote:
• ’The twelve greatest women in the United States are women who have never been heard of outside of their own homes.’
• "I ask you, who was greater, Thomas A. Edison or his mother? When he was a young lad his teacher sent him home with a note which said, ’Your child is dumb. We can’t do anything for him.’ Mrs. Edison wrote back, ’You do not understand my boy. I will teach him myself’. And she did, with results that are well known”
• Quietly faithful.
• A teacher had been teaching her class about magnets. She then gave them a quiz. One of the questions was: “My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?” When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was surprised that half the class answered the question with the word “Mother”.
3. After a closer look, do you get the impression that your mom was quietly faithful?
A. Well, then you should let her know!!!
• You need to show your appreciation to her for all she’s done for you.
• The family of the Proverbs Woman did…
• Verse 28 says, “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her” Prov 31:28 (NIV)
• So…Kids…if you have a mother who is quietly faithful…
• You should “arise and called her blessed”…
• You should go to her and say, “Mom…thanks for everything you do…
• I love you”
• Men, if you have a wife who is quietly faithful…
• You need to praise her…
• You need to express your appreciation to her…
B. For some of you…I realize that your mother has passed on…
• You aren’t able to thank her in person…
• I encourage you to make it a point to thank God for giving you a mother who was quietly faithful.
Conclusion
1. Verse 30 tells us that “charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting”…
• Think about that, the next time you look to someone famous for your hero…
• That glistening megawatt smile might be hiding some things that aren’t so beautiful…
2. Verse 30 concludes by saying, “but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Prov 31:30 (NIV)
• So, this morning…if you have a godly mother…
• If you have a mother who is quietly faithful…
• DON’T tell her how uncool she is…
• DON’T tell her about everyone else’s mom…
• Instead…tell her how much you appreciate her…
• Tell her how much you love her.
3. I found something written on the internet about the meanest mom in the world…I don’t know who wrote it, or else I would give them the credit…but here it is:
We had the meanest mom in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mom fixed us a dinner that was different from other kids had, too.
Mom insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You’d think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mom wouldn’t let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mom, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other’s property, or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things that other kids did. Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once.
Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that’s what is wrong with the world today. It just doesn’t have enough mean moms anymore. http://www.bible.org/illus/m/m-65.htm
4. Quietly faithful…
• Hour by hour…
• Day by day…
• Year after year after year…
5. I don’t know who your heroes are…
• Who you look up to…
• But if you have a mom who is quietly faithful…
• I hope that she is at the very top of your list…
• And; I hope that you let her know how much you appreciate her.
(bring mother’s up)
