She Is Worth Far More than Rubies
Happy Mother’s Day! You are worth far more than rubies. Your lamp does not
go out at night.
How many times have your mothers and the other women in your life stayed up
late—even all night—to take care of you when you were a baby, when you were sick,
when you were troubled?
It's not a 9 to 5 job. Sometimes her lamp stays on all night.
Of course, sometimes a wife and mother gets to go to bed at a reasonable hour
and turn off the lights and sleep. But her lamp does not really go out even then.
She is ready and willing to wake from a sound sleep, turn the lights back on, and
take care of those who need her. Her lamp does not go out at night when we need her
to be awake and nurturing and healing and wise.
But I don't think this Bible verse is only reminding us that the women in our lives
sometimes stay up late to take care of their families. I think it means even more than
that.
Darkness and light in the Bible don't usually just mean how brightly the sun or
moon is shining or if the lamps are turned all the way up.
Darkness in the Bible usually means that we don't see clearly, we don't
understand, we're not loving God and our neighbors, we're not living wisely.
Darkness usually means that things are going badly for us.
Light in the Bible usually means that now we can see clearly, that we finally
understand something new and important about God and about our lives, that now
we're better able to live and love wisely.
Light in the Bible usually means that now things are going well for us.
A mother's lamp does not go out at night. When we're walking in darkness, her
lamp still shines.
When we're going through a dark night of the soul, her lamp still shines, offering
guidance, hope, forgiveness, and love.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
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That isn't really the whole story though, is it? For example, sometimes a wife and
mother gets sick, feels troubled, walks in darkness, isn't able to be a light for others.
Needless to say, wives and mothers are—first of all—human beings in their own
right, with their own needs and desires and expectations.
Wives and mothers aren't only in this world to serve others. Women—just like
men—are in this world to also seek and find their own happiness, adventures,
accomplishments, and fulfillment.
Some women don't choose to be wives and mothers, just as some men don't
choose to be husbands and fathers. People are—first of all—just people, not merely
roles they're assigned to play in society.
Needless to say, women should have the same rights, freedoms, choices, and
opportunities that men do.
I'm sure that's what we all want for the girls and young ladies growing up in our
families, in our church, and in our community. Just like the boys and young men, they
need to be able to live their own lives in their own way.
Today’s Scripture is from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 31, the last chapter in
the book.
Wouldn't it be great if there were a Proverbs chapter 32 about what makes a
good wife and mother written from a woman's point of view?
Wouldn't it be great if there were a Proverbs chapter 33 written by a woman
about what a woman might expect from an ideal husband and father?
We don't have those chapters, but we ought to try, at least once in a while, to see
things from another person's point of view.
Laurie reminded me recently that in those old movies with lots of music and
ballroom dancing, Fred Astaire's dancing partner, Ginger Rogers, had to do everything
Fred did—except she had to do it going backwards and in high heels. I had to admit,
that would be a lot harder.
That's a point of view I hadn't considered. I'm glad Laurie brought it to my
attention.
We ought to try, every once in a while, to see things from another person’s point
of view.
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And, of course, sometimes wives and mothers and sisters and daughters need a
little help keeping their lamp burning brightly.
I remember one time when I was about 12 years old, my mother was crying, and
she told me that she wished she had never married my father or given birth to my
brothers and me.
She said she wished she had just stayed a secretary and spent more time having
fun with her friends instead of becoming a wife and mother at a young age.
I remember another time, several years later, when my mother was crying, and
she said, "I wish somebody would just treat me like I'm a person."
I guess being a wife and mother isn't always a bowl of cherries or a day at the
beach.
We ought to try, as often as we can, to see things from our wives' and mothers'
point of view, to ask what they need and desire, to encourage them and help them, the
way they encourage us and help us.
Remember that wonderful quote from the poet Maya Angelou: “Love is knowing
the song a person’s heart sings and humming it back to them on the days they forget
how it goes.”
Sometimes even our mothers and the other women in our lives forget the song
their heart sings, and we owe it to them to hum their song back to them on the days
they forget how it goes.
Today's Scripture tells us that a wife and mother of noble character is worth far
more than rubies. She works hard and skillfully. She feeds and clothes her family. She
manages the affairs of her household.
She helps the poor and needy. She speaks wisely. She even buys a field and
plants a vineyard. Her children bless her, and her husband praises her.
Her lamp does not go out at night. She is worth far more than rubies.
So I did some math last night. Here's what I came up with. Rubies, like other
gems, are measured in carats. 142 carats equal one ounce. A good quality one-carat
ruby is worth about $500 dollars.
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If a woman weighs 130 pounds, times 16 ounces in a pound, times 142 carats in
an ounce, times $500 per carat for a good ruby, a woman of noble character is worth
about $147,680,000!
I think that would be a bargain at twice the price!
And so today, Mother's Day, we honor our mothers and all women for all that
their hands have done, for all that their hearts have given.
Let their works bring them praise at the city gate and in our homes and in our
hearts.
Happy Mother's Day!
Rev. Tom Bierovic
First Christian Church
Shelbyville, TN
May 10, 2015
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