Proverbs 31:1-9, The Message
The words of King Lemuel,
the strong advice his mother gave him:
“Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!
Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!
Don’t dilute your strength on fortune-hunting women,
promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.
“Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,
gulping wine and swilling beer,
Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,
and the people who depend on them are hurt.
Use wine and beer only as sedatives,
to kill the pain and dull the ache
Of the terminally ill,
for whom life is a living death.
“Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the misfits.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
Today, we get the rare opportunity to hear wisdom from a reportedly feminine source. Scholars cannot agree (because there is a lack of good information) who King Lemuel is and if he is even a king at all. Whoever Lemuel is, the wisdom he shares is from his mother. We have precious little scripture from a feminine source, so this is significant, especially from the wisdom literature of the Old Testament.
The first part of this mother’s advice is to remember who he is. She dedicated him to the service of the Lord and he is man with great responsibility for the well-being of others. She warns him not to waste his energy and strength on chasing women and drinking, for doing so not only affects him, but hurts those for whom he been charged with care. His focus should be on meeting his responsibility. The other part of her wisdom is to be clear about what that responsibility is:
“Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the misfits.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
This sounds remarkably similar to Jesus’s statement of His responsibility in Luke 4
God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!” (Luke 4:18-20, The Message)
Though we are not kings, we are people who have been blessed with resources. Our available choices are similar to Lemuel’s – we can squander them on pleasing ourselves or we can stay focused on those whom we have a responsibility to help. Jesus’s self-ascribed mission is now ours. Lemuel’s mother’s wisdom is wisdom for all of us who have power and resources to help those in need. The encouragement today is to take an honest look at how we use that which has been given to us.
Question: What percentage do we use to fulfill ourselves vs. what we use to help those in the most need?
Prayer: God of abundance, thank you for the blessings that we enjoy every day. We also thank You for the call to join You in Your mission to help those in need. Help us see our responsibilities clearly and be generous in our response. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for those you know who have a lot of responsibility for others.
Song: God of the Poor – Graham Kendrick
Weekday Word w/ Eric 
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