by Chris Steele

May 13, 2007

Mothers are invaluable for many reasons, but how much is she worth in terms of the actual work that she does?

According to a recent study of 26,000 stay-at-home mothers and 14,000 mothers who also work outside the home, a typical stay-at-home mom does the work of 10 different professionals. These jobs included a housekeeper, cook, teacher, laundry machine operator, chauffer, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, CEO, and psychologist. If she was paid a fair and competitive wage, according to her services, she would earn $138,095 a year. The salary was calculated on the typical mother putting in a 92-hour work week, or 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime.

The worth of the virtuous woman (wife, mother, and business woman) described by the wise man in Proverbs 31:10 “is far above rubies.” The description of the work that she does fits well into the picture of the above mentioned study. King Lemuel said, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a 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” (Pro. 31:30, 31).

It is no wonder why God commands husbands to love their wives (Eph. 5:25). Husbands need to cherish their wives and build them up spiritually and emotionally. Men need to help their wives in the home to make the workload easier (Eph. 5:28, 29).

As for children, they are commanded by God “to obey and honor their father and mother” (Eph. 6:1, 2). Children need to stop and think, and be wise, not only for themselves, but also for their mothers. We must know the love and concern that a mother has for her children will follow us all the days of our lives. The wise man said that a foolish child “is the heaviness of his mother” (Pro. 10:1), but with a wise child she will be glad and rejoice (Pro. 23:25).

Men, let’s not wait until our beloved wife is gone before we see just how much she means to us — how invaluable she really is. Children don’t wait until you have your own children before you see just how much a mother is worth.