Proverbs 31:2: “What, my son?  and what, the son of my womb?  and what, the son of my vows?” (KJV)

I love this; it’s like she is getting ready to give it to him, son what end, what good, what purpose; what ARE you thinking???? Ever been there? Then she goes on with “the son of my vows”. Other translations say the son I promised to God, or the son I dedicated to God.  The Message translation says: “Oh son of mine, what can you be thinking of!  Child whom I bore, the son I dedicated to God”.

If you have a moment of freaking out prior to instructing your children, not to worry you are in good company. Our mighty woman of God may have overreacted in this verse, maybe laid on the guilt a bit, or was acting like a drama queen with “the son of my womb” or “the child whom I bore” stint; but she did not continue in that frame of mind.

What I really like about our Proverbs 31 Woman is that she seems to have gotten over it quickly. She doesn’t camp out on freaking out. Instead she pours out her wisdom to her son for the remainder of the chapter.

I want to take a moment to talk about dedicating your children to the Lord. Dedicating your child to the Lord is so special for you and your child. Children are a gift from God; and dedicating your gift back to God is not only showing the Lord that you appreciate His gift to you; but more importantly it is asking God to give you, the grace and wisdom to carry out your responsibilities as a parent. Take a moment and read Deuteronomy 6:4-7. This portion of scripture first, commands the parents to love God. We must be the example to our children. We must love God and it must be evident in our daily life if we truly want our children to follow after and love the Lord.

Here are a couple baby dedications done at Living Faith while we were pastors

Baby Dedications @ Living Faith Brandon & Justine dedicating Above: Alexander July 2012 Below: Evelyn November 2012

Baby Dedication @ Living Faith November 2012 Parents: Michael & Tayleina dedicating Celeste

Secondly, in verse 7 we are given a command to teach our children diligently. It is not the responsibility of the schools or Sunday schools to teach your child in the ways of the Lord; it is your responsibility. So many parents leave the educating in the “things of life” to others. Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. This is a promise of God, when we do our part and train up our children in the things of the Lord, in morality, kindness and love, we should expect that when they get old they will not depart from what they know is right.

Our beautiful Proverbs 31 woman is a woman of action; knowing you should do something and actually doing it AND doing it diligently are two very different things. In the verses to follow she teaches her son about what kind of woman he is not to get involved with, and then also what kind of woman that he should be looking for to be his helpmeet in life.

I want to encourage you to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Be the example your children need; teach them diligently in the ways of the Lord. God gives you this promise: if you do, He will keep your children from departing from it.