Proverbs 31:10
A Child Needs
Pro 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her
price is far above rubies.
How does a mother raise a child in this day? There is much from which
to protect our children today. The electronic world has opened every
perversion imaginable to a child. Discipline is virtually illegal. By
the time a child is in middle school, many of them are so wild that
neither the parents, the schools, nor the courts know how to deal
with the products they have created. Even many church kids
today are perverted, addicted, fornicators, and members of gangs.
How does a mother raise a child in this day? The answer is, "The way
God in the Bible tells us to raise them." The times may be more
wicked but the Word is not any less powerful. The Bible is a complete
Book. It works in immoral days the same as it works in moral days.
With that thought in mind, let me tell you two things—from the
Bible—that every child needs.
I. A Child Needs A Mother Strong in Character.
A. The word virtue deals character.
1. The word used here for "virtuous" actually refers to
strength, force, and power.
2. Virtue does not speak of brute strength but internal
strength.
3. The ability to stand when others fall, to do right when
others do wrong, to continue on when others quit.
B. I have heard of ladies who feel intimidated by this chapter.
1. God did not give this chapter to intimidate but to
challenge.
a. This chapter is not describing a real woman.
b. It is describing some of the best virtues for which a
woman should strive.
2. The description is a conglomerate picture, a collage, an
amalgamation, of what a woman would look like if she had
the virtues mentioned here; but no woman ever has.
3. Eve, before the fall, was the closest thing to a perfect
woman the earth has ever had and even she made some bad
decisions.
4. The goal of this chapter is not to shame a good woman for
coming up short, but to put an image into her head,
heart, and spirit that she can strive to attain.
C. There are at least 18 virtues listed in the remainder of this
chapter.
1. I say 18 because there are 18 verses before the writer
starts his summation in \\#29\\.
2. I say at least 18 because some verses mention more than
one virtue.
3. Of course, I cannot speak on all of them so I have
selected a few.
D. What are the virtues?
1. \\#11\\ She is faithful.
Pro 31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely
trust in her, so that he shall have no need of
spoil.
a. There is no need to elaborate much on that, is there?
Just look at what is common today and think, "This
is the exact opposite."
b. Even inside the church, husbands and wives swap their
mates more often and with less thought than they
trade for a new car.
c. What really must make God sad is that they do so while
boasting how strong they are.
(1) "I am too strong to stay in a relation that does
not meet my needs!"
(2) It takes no strength to quit, to throw in the
towel.
(3) According to this verse, the strong woman:
(a) Stays until the difficult will work.
(b) Works until the hard becomes easier.
(c) Loves until the weak things are the strong
and the strong things are put in the right
place.
d. The virtuous woman is faithful.
2. \\#13\\ She is hard working.
Pro 31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and
worketh willingly with her hands.
a. I do not know of many women who do not work hard. Most
do.
b. But the context here is that the virtuous woman works
hard for the success of her home, not for the success
of a company.
c. While many of today’s women probably work as hard as
any previous generation, too often either all of their
energy or most of their energy or the best of their
energy is given to others besides the home.
d. That is not always the woman’s fault.
(1) To be honest, sometimes the husband insists that
the woman give her best to someone else so that
they can have and do things that pervious
generations did not have and do.
(2) You make whatever decision you want to make, but
the virtuous woman is the woman who gives her
best to her household.
3. \\#14\\ She feeds her family.
Pro 31:14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she
bringeth her food from afar.
a. So many home skills are lost today.
(1) Not just in the women, but in the men too.
(2) In the day when our family must live off of what
I can grow, kill, and catch; we will a hungry
family indeed.
b. I do not know how things will play out in our world.
(1) We have been preaching through the book of
Revelation and we know that one of the first
judgments is going to deal with food and the
expense of it.
(2) I don’t know if there will be a time like that
before the rapture of the church or not; but I do
know that the day is coming when it will not be
the person who controls the gold and silver who
calls the shots; but the person who controls the
food and water.
4. \\#21\\ She is prepared.
Pro 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her
household: for all her household are clothed
with scarlet.
a. No one can be prepared if they have too many
priorities, no one.
b. Too many ladies have too many jobs.
c. Sadly, you give the most attention to the job from
which you can be fired.
d. Where does that leave the home?
5. \\#26\\ She is insightful and gracious in her speech.
Pro 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and
in her tongue is the law of kindness.
a. Not loud. No haughty. Not argumentative.
b. There are a lot of women today who can scream, cuss,
fight, and intimidate with the best of them; but not
many who speak with wisdom and grace.
E. So the list goes on, but let’s modernize it. Let’s bring it
into today’s world.
1. What does a virtuous woman do?
a. She supports her husband \\#11\\ and her children
\\#28\\.
b. She makes the house a home (the whole proverb).
c. She feeds her family \\#14\\ and clothes them \\#19\\.
d. Her family is her priority (the whole proverb).
e. She is capable \\#19\\, strong \\#17\\, hard working
\\#13, 15, 18\\.
f. She is devoted \\#27\\, self-sacrificing (the whole
proverb), honorable \#25\\, and faithful (the whole
proverb).
g. She is generous \\#20\\, shrewd \\#16\\, and even
refined \\#22\\.
2. What does a virtuous woman not do?
a. She doesn’t abuse drugs.
b. She is not a drunkard.
c. She is not wasteful, selfish, or a spendthrift.
d. She is not argumentative, harsh, domineering, or
unkind.
e. She is not lazy, self-absorbed, or flirtatious.
3. In short, the virtuous woman is not in mass production
in the 21st century.
a. And with good reason.
(1) Virtuous women are not born in hospitals.
(2) They are born in godly church and godly homes!
b. They were rare and priceless in Bible times, but they
even more rare and precious today.
c. But every child needs a virtuous mother to help put
into him or her the same kind of virtues.
(1) Those that please God, not those that offend Him.
(2) Those that give us strength of character but do
not make us proud or haughty.
(3) Those that make children thankful for their
mothers, not renegades or rebels.
F. But even more than a child needing a mother strong in
character.
II. A Child Needs A Mother Strong in Christ.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the
Lord, and in the power of his might.
A. This is not a command directed to mothers.
1. In fact as far as I can think of, the Bible has only one
command given to fathers and none to mothers.
a. Why not?
b. Because the what we need to do to be a good Christian
mother and father is the same thing we need to do to
do to be a good Christian.
2. So this verse is directed not just to Christians but to
Christian mothers and Christian fathers and Christian
employers and Christian employees and Christian everyone
else.
3. What is the command? It is to be strong in Christ.
4. Mothers, children need a mother who is strong in the Lord.
B. How does a mother become strong in the Lord?
1. First, she must be saved.
a. All of the virtues listed in Proverbs 31 are great
virtues.
b. Putting them into your life will make you a good—no,
a great person.
c. In fact if you had every one of them, you could
possibly be the best mother to enter hell.
d. You ask, "Preacher, what do you mean?"
(1) Although all of those virtues would make you an
amazing woman, but only trusting Jesus Christ
can make you a Christian.
(a) More people go to hell.
(b) Hard-working people go to hell.
(c) Religious people go to hell.
(d) Virtuous people go to hell.
e. Children need mothers that are strong in character but
they also need mothers who are strong in Christ.
2. And after you have been saved, mothers, then read your
Bible, pray, join and attend a good Bible believing
church, and the best you can, obey Jesus Christ.
3. These are the things you do to become a mother strong in
Christ.
4. But I want to continue along the lines of what a child
needs from a mother who is strong in Christ for that is
my topic today.
C. A child needs a mother strong in Christ because he needs:
1. God as an Ally and not an Enemy.
a. Modern religion teaches that God loves everyone and
will do no one harm; but that is not entirely true.
b. Sinners are born under the condemnation of God.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him.
c. God does love you and God wants to save you;, but
until you allow Him, you are God’s enemy.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by
his life.
Colossians 1:21 And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled
d. If you ever thought you born under a curse, you were;
but Jesus died to take that curse from you… to
change you from being God’s enemy to being God’s
friend… from being condemned by God to having God
as your Ally.
e. Momma, can you think of any better way to help your
child in this world than to give him or her God as an
Ally? Me either.
f. The best chance of that happening is for every child’s
mother to be strong in Christ.
2. He needs a moral compass.
a. Have you wondered what has happened to our children
in this age?
(1) Why are children so susceptible to what modern-
science calls bipolar and schizophrenia?
(2) Why are they pronged toward depression and
suicide?
(3) Why do they battle with compulsive disorders and
other mental challenges?
(4) Why are children so violent, committing mass
shootings, killing their own parents, becoming
criminals before they are old enough to legally
drive an automobile?
(5) Why are children experimenting with sex even
before puberty?
(6) Why are they lying, turning to drugs, walking
away from the Bible, and refusing opportunities
to be educated and to advance themselves in a
civilized society?
(7) Mine may not be the only answer but there is no
doubt in my mind it is primarily because they
have no moral compass.
b. How can anyone find a proper location in a large
world without a compass to guide them to it?
(1) If we could strip the United States of every
road, every sign, every landmark, and of every
form of map and guidance, could you find the
Atlanta airport?
(2) Could you even find Birmingham International
Airport?
(3) Could you find your way home?
(4) On April 27, 2011, the many tornadoes that were
spawned made many familiar places
unrecognizable.
(5) How is a youngster then supposed to find his way
to right behavior if he has no moral compass to
guide him?
(6) Indeed, even adults can’t seem to do it.
(7) The best chance a child has to receive a godly
compass is to have a mother that is strong in
Christ.
3. He needs to learn his purpose.
a. Every person was created with a purpose.
b. God does not make junk or extra pieces.
c. Every person was created by God to do something for
Him, probably many some things.
d. In 2002, Rick Warren became a house-hold name by
publishing a book, The Purpose Driven Life.
e. Regardless of what you think of the man, his book, or
his philosophy, it was a great title.
f. Every child needs a purpose-driven life, and it needs
to be God’s purpose.
g. The best chance for that to happen is to have a mother
who is strong in Christ.
Oh, there is so much more to say; but I must stop. Mom, you are the
most important member of the family. Dads are supposed to set the
standards, but it is the mom who the children see, whose example they
follow, whose words they will hear.
How does a mother raise a child in this day? She becomes strong in
character and strong in Christ.
The first step is salvation. If you have not trusted Jesus as your
Savior, there is no better day than today and no better time than
right now.
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