1. A Working Mother Proverbs 31:10-31

2. A Working Mother  We often think of Proverbs 31 when a godly woman has left this world.  “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the L ORD, she shall be praised” (Prov 31:30).  This morning we wish to give “honor to whom honor” is due (Rom 13:7).  Proverbs 31 describes a woman who works very hard.  This woman’s service stands out.

3. “A working mother is a serving mother.”

4. Proverbs 31:10-31

5. A Working Mother  A working mother serves her husband.  “The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain” (v 11).  This woman is the family breadwinner.  She buys a field (v 16).  She perceives that her merchandise is good (v 18).  She makes linen garments and sells them (v 24).  Why is this woman working outside the home?  “Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land” (v 23).  Her husband is able to serve God’s people because of his wife.

6. A Working Mother  A working mother serves her children.  “She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants” (v 15).  “She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet” (v 21).  “She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness” (v 26).  Children remember the way their mother serves them!

7. A Working Mother  A working mother serves her customers.  “She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night” (v 18).  This is an important principle.  This is an honest woman.  “Putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another” (Eph 4:25).  This is a hard-working woman.  “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Col 3:23).

8. A Working Mother  A working mother serves the poor.  “She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy” (v 20).  “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Eph 4:28).

9. “A working mother is a serving mother.”

10. A Working Mother  We need women who serve their husbands.  In Prov 31, the working mother serves her husband so he can serve God’s people.  Both an elder (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6) and a deacon (1 Tim 3:12) are to be husbands of one wife.  That says something about the permanence of marriage.  But, doesn’t that also say something about the encouragement a man can receive from his wife?  Find a way this week to encourage your husband to be active in the work of God.

11. A Working Mother  We need mothers who serve their children.  The virtuous woman served her children by providing for them and teaching them.  Commit to teaching your children this week.  “My son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother” (Prov 6:20).  “The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him” (Prov 31:1).

12. A Working Mother  We need mothers who are honest.  How will you commit to being honest this week?  We need mothers who serve the poor.  How will you serve the poor this week?

13. What a better world this would be if people understood “A working mother is a serving mother”! How godly are you this morning?