"Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies."
Proverbs 31:10
The book of Proverbs ends with an outline of the characteristics of a strong and virtuous woman with many skills and great wisdom. Her skills, however, do not come from her amazing achievements but instead come from her reliance on and reverence for God. In today's society so much emphasis is placed on physical beauty and too little emphasis is placed on dignity and strength. The "Proverbs 31 Woman", as I've heard it referred to, is an inspiration for all women to follow yet we should realize that this isn't really a model to imitate. The days are not long enough for everything she does! We need to learn from her actions, from her skillful nature and from her resourcefulness.
My mother was very resourceful and was an entrepreneur in the 1970's. While she worked a full-time job, she started a business in our basement teaching ceramics to 20 ladies 2 nights a week. She worked very hard to help our family make ends meet. She and my dad would garden, can vegetables, make grape jelly and do many things themselves. They taught me how to do things myself and not to rely on others when God gave you the talents to do it yourself.
My mother's strength and ingenuity gave me confidence that I could do what ever I wanted in life. Her character led me to learn many skills just because you never know when you might need to do something. I also looked for these same skills in my partner, which is probably why it took me so long to get married. There weren't many women that possessed the characteristics of a Proverbs 31 woman, which is sad. Today, women need to be more concerned with their integrity, their resourcefulness, their outstanding abilities and less concerned with their figure or their beauty. Beauty is only skin deep and fades faster than we can imagine, but knowledge, integrity, resourcefulness, and skills will last a lifetime. Focus on these instead.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
Proverbs 31:10
The book of Proverbs ends with an outline of the characteristics of a strong and virtuous woman with many skills and great wisdom. Her skills, however, do not come from her amazing achievements but instead come from her reliance on and reverence for God. In today's society so much emphasis is placed on physical beauty and too little emphasis is placed on dignity and strength. The "Proverbs 31 Woman", as I've heard it referred to, is an inspiration for all women to follow yet we should realize that this isn't really a model to imitate. The days are not long enough for everything she does! We need to learn from her actions, from her skillful nature and from her resourcefulness.
My mother was very resourceful and was an entrepreneur in the 1970's. While she worked a full-time job, she started a business in our basement teaching ceramics to 20 ladies 2 nights a week. She worked very hard to help our family make ends meet. She and my dad would garden, can vegetables, make grape jelly and do many things themselves. They taught me how to do things myself and not to rely on others when God gave you the talents to do it yourself.
My mother's strength and ingenuity gave me confidence that I could do what ever I wanted in life. Her character led me to learn many skills just because you never know when you might need to do something. I also looked for these same skills in my partner, which is probably why it took me so long to get married. There weren't many women that possessed the characteristics of a Proverbs 31 woman, which is sad. Today, women need to be more concerned with their integrity, their resourcefulness, their outstanding abilities and less concerned with their figure or their beauty. Beauty is only skin deep and fades faster than we can imagine, but knowledge, integrity, resourcefulness, and skills will last a lifetime. Focus on these instead.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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