Listen to My Mom

 Read Proverbs 31

This proverb is different in that these are considered the sayings of King Lemuel, but he learned them from his mother. Lemuel gives them to us in much the way he received them; hence the comment, son of my womb.

What’s the counsel?

Watch out for women and drinking too much alcohol.  That’s pretty much it, at least for one who would be king.

Rulers make bad lovers

You better put your kingdom up for sale, up for sale

And you thought that I was limited to country song lyrics and never expected Fleetwood Mac to make it into a sermon.  Some of you have been culturally deprived as you never heard God Dust Woman.

Stevie Nicks gives us the proposition in reverse to what Lemuel’s mom said, but you get the point. You can run your kingdom or you can chase after women, but you can’t do both well. Stevie says give up your kingdom.  Lemuel’s mom says give up the women.

If your aspirations in life are just to get your daily pay and forget about your life, have a few beers to help you forget that you are just punching the clock.

But for the one who wants to take what God gave him and put it to use and produce a return, don’t get distracted by these two big distractions—booze and women.

Some just want to drink their lives away for they do not understand their purpose.  For them, life is not so much a gift as it is the daily grind.  Mom’s advice is don’t let your life become a daily grind.  Don’t desire to forget about your life because it is nothing but misery.

You have purpose in your life.  Part of that purpose is to bless those who are not so well off.  Specifically:

Speak up for those who have no voice.

Stand up for those who are at the very bottom and can’t do anything about their situation.

Judge fairly and be attuned to those who have no advocate.

Defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Live God’s way and stay out of the everything else.  Who gets sucked into the everything else?

Those who don’t understand that God’s way is not only best for them but it also contains purpose for their lives.

But these pieces of counsel are for a man who would grow up to be king.  I’m likely not getting that job any time soon.

But you are charged to bring up your children in the way they should go.  You may be entrusted with a classroom full of children.

You may have only 1 or 2 other people under your charge, but they will see your purpose in everything you do.

You may have a company that sees you live out your purpose.

You may have neither children nor employees but just work a register.  People will see whether you are living with purpose or just waiting for quitting time so you can head to the bar until closing time.

If you know that God has given you purpose in your life, be on the lookout for traps set along the way.  Mom says that booze and wayward women are at the top of the list.

Know your purpose and your goals.  Press on towards the goal.  Stay the course. 

Consider the perspective of the Apostle Paul.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

 You have God-given purpose in your life.  That should get you up in the morning, but beware there are landmines out there.  They might not be booze or wild women, but anything that takes you away from the purpose that God gave you should be treated like a landmine.

Stick to God’s way.  His way is love.  His way contains your purpose.  His way is given to you for your own good.  Living in God’s way brings us blessing.

King Lemuel’s message is to listen to mom.

Amen.