A Mother's Example

Strength and honour are her clothing;

She shall rejoice in time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

She watches over the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many daughters have done well,

But you excel them all.”

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But the woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

-Proverbs 31:25-31

A mother is a woman of influence.  She imparts values, stimulates creativity, and nurtures strengths.  She opens the world to her children.  Ellyn Sanna writes, “As mothers we have an awesome opportunity:  the chance to plant seeds, kindle fires, and impart a legacy of wealth.”  What could be more significant and more glorifying to God than to raise our children to walk in His ways and to take their God-given place in society?  Raising children is a great privilege; it is also a profound responsibility.  Whether we realize it or not, a mother’s example is one of the greatest teachers that her children possess.

A Tamil proverb says, “As the thread, so the garment; as the mother, so the child.”  Just as the grade of the threads determines the quality of the garment, so the example of the mother instructs the character of the child.  We see this strong influence of a mother throughout the Scriptures.  Consider Hannah and her godly influence on Samuel.  Study the kings and their mothers.  Read Paul’s acknowledgement of the faith which first dwelt in Timothy’s grandmother and mother and which was now in Timothy as well.  How a mother lives her life and faith before her children is a significant contributor to the way her children will live out their lives and faith.    

How can a mother fulfill this awesome responsibility?  How can she be the godly example that she desires to be?  Paul gives some excellent advice to Timothy.  He instructs Timothy to be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.  We, as mothers, must also take heed to our ministry and be examples to our children in these same six areas.  Do our words encourage and uplift?  Is our conduct godly?  Do we show love to those around us?  Are we faithful to the Lord in our spirits?  Is our faith in the Lord growing and thriving?  Are we living pure lives in what we watch and read?

Paul goes on to instruct Timothy to give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  In our ministry of motherhood we must also give attention to these matters.  We must faithfully read God’s Word on a daily basis.  We must be consistent in our exhortations of our children.  We must know what we believe and we must diligently teach it to our children.  Paul then tells Timothy that he must meditate on these things and, in fact, give himself entirely to them.  His progress should be evident to all.  Do we meditate on these things?  Do we give ourselves entirely to them?  Are we progressing in our faith?  Is our progression evident to all?

As mothers our lives are constantly before our children.  They perceive more than we often realize.  Our ministry as mothers will have flaws.  At times we will fail.  But we can rest in the fact that the mother who fears the Lord will be fruitful in the works of her hands.  The children of the mother who follows after the Lord will rise and call her blessed.  Her husband will also rise and praise her.  Let us then focus our attention on Him as we go about our daily duties.