Matters of Faith

Reverend J. Loren Russell        

Proverbs 31:10-31 (CEV)

A truly good wife is the most precious treasure a man can find! Her husband depends on her, and she never lets him down.She is good to him every day of her life, and with her own hands she gladly makes clothes. ¹⁴ She is like a sailing ship that brings food from across the sea.
She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and for her servants.
She knows how to buy land and how to plant a vineyard, and she always works hard. She knows when to buy or sell, and she stays busy until late at night. She spins her own cloth, and she helps the poor and the needy.Her family has warm clothing, and so she doesn’t worry when it snows. She does her own sewing, and everything she wears is beautiful. Her husband is a well-known and respected leader in the city. She makes clothes to sell to the shop owners. She is strong and graceful, as well as cheerful about the future.Her words are sensible, and her advice is thoughtful.She takes good care of her family and is never lazy. Her children praise her, and with great pride her husband says, “There are many good women, but you are the best!” Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the Lord deserves to be praised. Show her respect— praise her in public for what she has done. 

Does the birth of children define the characteristics of a virtuous mother? Proverbs 31 takes a different approach, saying that the essence of a virtuous mother begins with a woman (wife) who is regarded as a precious treasure by her husband. She is a woman that he cannot live without. 

She is described as a truly good woman; precious, dependable, talented, industrious, savvy, generous, compassionate, empathetic, strong, graceful, cheerful, sensible, insightful, honorable, beautiful, proud, respectful, loving, kind, sensual, thoughtful, caring, sharing, and God-fearing. The author describes a truly good or virtuous (KJV) woman as someone who handles her business and loves her family, especially those who call her “Mother.”  

Anna Jarvis fought to have this day set aside nationally to celebrate and honor the love, care, and sacrifices mothers made for their children and the service they give to their communities. What’s interesting is that while Jarvis never married or had children, she clearly recognized the value of motherhood. Without the aid of modern technology, email, or AI, a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians resulted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

If I could write for every grateful child who had a loving mother, biological or surrogate, the most profound thing I could say is that God has honored her for the love she gave to others. Personally, my mother was gone too soon, but she left an incredible reservoir of love and compassion that not only overflows in my heart, but overflows and is evidenced in the lives of my three siblings through the love they express to their own children. As the lone childless sibling, I get to see the influence of my mother’s love in the lives of my sibling’s children.  

It really doesn’t matter whether your mother had all or none of the qualities found in Proverbs 31. What matters is how you respect and honor her for the ones she has, and what she has done for you. (Notwithstanding, sometimes the best thing a mother can do is let her children go.) If nothing else, we all can and should respect and honor our mothers because she bought us into this world. For that reason alone, you now can make this world a much better place than it was when you were born into it. And, to do for your children and the community what she may not have had the ability to do.  

As a matter of faith, any woman, whether a mother or not, who has the essence of a virtuous mother, should be given her praises while she can hear them. Her children praise her, and with great pride her husband says, “There are many good women, but you are the best!” (vv. 28-29). 

So today, follow Stevie Wonder’s advice and “just call to say ‘I love you!’ And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.” If you can’t call her, pay her a visit, say a prayer, or just spend some quiet time thanking her for being your mother. 

Happy Mother’s Day!