Proverbs 31:17

 

 

Proverbs 31:17

She girdeth her loins with strength, 

And maketh strong her arms.

Ah yes, the virtuous body builder, hitting those weight benches at the gym every day...  Haha, ok, not really. I just had to throw that in there. :)

If you think about it, it seems obvious that after all the work she does, the virtuous woman would be at least somewhat strong. And yet her strength is still mentioned specifically! This woman makes sure that she clothes herself with strength. We are seeing many examples of her strength of character, and her discipline in labor helps her reap the benefit of a strong body!

Today, we have so many labor-saving devices that take a lot of the "sweat" out of work, so that even a very hardworking mother most likely won't have the same amount of physical strength that a hardworking mother of ancient times had. I certainly don't think that appliances like washing machines are wrong - I love them! But I think all of us (myself definitely included) need to "make strong our arms" in what ways we can. If we get enough exercise simply through our everyday tasks, great! But if we don't get the right kinds of exercise in the course of our daily work, I think it's a good idea to set aside a little time towards maintaining a healthy body.

Another thought I had was this: I think sometimes with certain tasks, we quickly assume that it's something we can't (or shouldn't have to) do. Now, I'm not talking about truly overexerting oneself so that you end up getting injured. Nor am I talking about overstepping the bounds of a woman's role. But, for example, lawn mowing. It's actually not that hard, so I don't know if it qualifies as something you need to strengthen your arms for, haha, but I'll use it as an example anyway.

I realize that there are some tasks that are sortof "guy things." Mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, etc. But I don't personally think it's inappropriate for a woman to mow the lawn now and then. If your husband wants that to be his responsibility, good for him! But I don't think we should always make that something that only he can do. If he's had a rough week and feels overwhelmed, and the lawn is on his "to do" list, maybe it would be a nice surprise to just "gird our loins" and have that grass mown when he comes home from work!

Here's a quote from George Lawson that I thought was good.

As rust gathers on metals that are seldom used, so sluggishness of disposition contracts a rust on the power of the body and mind; and idle persons by degrees realize those excuses for their conduct which were at first mere shams. The virtuous woman is of a very different temper. She declines not any part of her duty through aversion to toil; and by exerting her strength with a cheerful mind she improves it. Her labors give her health and vigor, and alacrity for new labors; so that she can with great ease and tranquility go through those duties which appear impossibilities to other women [Commentary on Proverbs, p. 564]

Let's all keep ourselves strong and rust-free... ready for whatever opportunities for good works come our way! :)

Proverbs 31:16

She considereth a field, and buyeth it;
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

I had a lot of thoughts that came out through the study of this verse, but some of those thoughts are a little off topic, so I'll save them for another time. For now, here are my thoughts on the verse at hand! :)

Here in verse 16, we are here given yet another great example of the worthy woman’s prudent industry.

First of all, she considers a field. That is, she thinks carefully before she makes a purchase. This is the opposite of impulse buying! You know those little fridges full of soda and water, and those racks of candy, etc. in the checkout line? Yep. They're there for a reason, and they’ll getcha.

Say you buy just $3 (plus tax) worth of snacks or other impulse items every time you go to the grocery store or when you’re filling up with gas, etc. and you visit one of these types of places maybe 6 times per month. That’s $19.44 per month, or $233.28 per year. I don’t know about you, but I think most times I could wait till I got home to get a drink of water or a snack if it meant saving 20 bucks per month for something else more meaningful that I wanted or needed!

Second, she planted a vineyard with the fruit of her hands. She works hard to earn capital to use in other endeavors. Notice that it does not say “she checks her credit report to see if she qualifies for a loan, and after receiving that loan, she plants a vineyard.”

According to this article on MSN Money (which appears to be several years old),

“The average U.S. household with a mortgage, two college graduates who borrowed money for school and more than one credit card, owes about $112,000”

In addition, over one million people filed for bankruptcy in the first 9 months of 2009.

Those are some sobering statistics. Most of us know of people who are up to their eyeballs in debt, or perhaps had to put off certain things that they really wanted for many years (such as having children) because they were so burdened with debt. This kind of money mismanagement has become a part of our culture, but it doesn’t need to be. The wise woman of Proverbs 31 was careful, not reckless, with her financial decisions.

Perhaps most of us don’t have that kind of extreme debt (or hopefully any), but we all need to make sure that we’re wise in every aspect of our stewardship – even those seemingly insignificant impulse purchases.

When we’re smart about our finances - as the virtuous woman was - we will be better equipped to be great blessings to our families as well as others around us!

Working willingly

Here we go... this is the verse that starts talking about some of the specific ways the virtuous woman demonstrates that virtue. Now, obviously, everything listed in this passage isn't something that she did every single day; but even considering that, it's still a daunting list!

Proverbs 31:13
She seeketh wool and flax,
And worketh willingly with her hands

This esteemed lady sought the materials that she needed for both providing for the needs of her family as well as contributing to the family's wealth... This verse shows her starting with raw materials, and later we see what she presumably does with these materials. Verse 19 speaks of her spinning, verses 21 and 22 mention her making coverings of tapestry as well as clothing for herself and her household, and verse 24 mentions her selling garments (Perhaps the order is inconsequential, but I find it interesting that it shows her working hard to make sure her immediate family is cared for properly before it mentions selling "extra" garments for some profit).

The part of this verse that especially stands out to me is that little word "willingly."

willing |ˈwili ng |
adjective [often with infinitive ]
ready, eager, or prepared to do something : he was quite willing to compromise.
• given or done readily : willing and prompt obedience.

This is Strong's - 2656 chephets khay'-fets from 2654; pleasure; hence (abstractly) desire; concretely, a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind):--acceptable, delight(-some), desire, things desired, matter, pleasant(-ure), purpose, willingly. see HEBREW for 02654

The idea here is not that she is resigned to working with her hands, or somehow just gets through it because she has no other choice. This passage does not paint a picture of a lady who is in the lower class, but one who almost certainly has servants (verse 15) and whose husband is well known and well respected (verse 23). If she wanted to, likely she could "eat the bread of idleness" daily, and be similar to the women described in 1 Timothy...

I Timothy 5:13:
And withal they learn also to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

And yet... even though she has the option of "taking it easy," this wonderful example of womanhood is ready, eager and prepared to not only work, but to find pleasure and delight in her homemaking!

Attitude is everything. I can’t count the times I’ve fallen into mentally grumbling about some kind of work or another. And yet, the instant I change my thinking, those jobs don't seem half so bad... in fact, I enjoy them! For example, the ever-present toilet. You know, toilets are gross. I get that. But compared to a lot of other things, scrubbing toilets is not bad at all. At least you have one, right? (Outhouses and chamber pots, anyone? Hahaha...) Why don't we make it easier on ourselves and just do it cheerfully instead of thinking about how nasty it is the whole time? It helps, believe me.

Sometimes all we need is to give ourselves a little shake and an attitude adjustment. Ah, the power of attitude. That's really what a lot of Christian living is all about, right? Luke 6:22, 23; Acts 16:25; James 1:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. There will always be rough days, always be jobs to do, always be times when we are tempted to become discouraged... But how we view these things is up to us. It's a choice we make, whether to view these things as drudgery or as a pleasure. No matter how lowly the task; when we perform it willingly, in love - as a fulfilling delight to us, it will help us all to become a little more virtuous... and a whoooole lot happier. :)


PS- We were without internet at our house for about 3 days, so I didn't know that we were covering verses 13-15 till I had already written this post... but I think the thoughts I had for this verse can tie in somewhat with all three verses. Hope that's not cheating too much! :)

She doeth him good and not evil...

I know it shouldn't surprise us when we find that God's Word becomes deeper and more meaningful to us every time we study it, but sometimes it still amazes me just how much wisdom is packed into the smallest detail of the shortest verse! Our Creator certainly knows just what we need. I have really been enjoying this study... even if I am a day late (hopefully not a dollar short!) with my post this week. :)

Proverbs 31:12
She doeth him good and not evil All the days of her life.

There is so much that could be said about the many different ways that we can do good to our husbands. A thousand different areas could be discussed, and I know there are a lot of important "good deeds" that I haven't thought of and probably should, but this time I'm going to focus on a different aspect of this verse.

The concept that good is something you DO is very interesting to me. Of course we should always be striving to have good thoughts, etc. But in this usage, good is not something you think about and stop there. Though I'm not married yet (79 days!), this still has a lot of applicability to me. I have a bad tendency to have all the good intentions in the world and then not quite follow through all the way. It reminds me of James 2:15, 16

If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them,
Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye
give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

I know the greater context here is talking about faith and works being intertwined, but the example definitely also applies to doing good to our husbands (or anyone else, for that matter). Do we have nice words or thoughts, but never follow through, even in regular, everyday things? Intentions to be kind and good which never bear any fruit? Doing good for our husbands can include the simplest things like having clean clothes for him to wear and good food for him to eat. I don't know of anyone who absolutely loves doing load after load of laundry. But do we put it off and let it sit around so long that it somehow gets dirty again before it ever leaves the basket? (Yes... in case you're wondering... I've done that before. *hangs head*) Maybe it's stretching just a tiny bit, but consider James 2:15, 16 with the husband/wife relationship inserted...

If your husband be naked and in lack of daily food, and you say to him,
Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet you
don't give him the things his body needs; what does it profit?

I think the point is pretty clear that good is something we have to constantly work at doing... not just thinking about doing. That's a lesson that I need to learn.

I had a lot (and I mean a lot) more to say about this verse, but I'm trying really hard to keep these posts on the shorter/manageable side! :) Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Far Above Rubies

Kristen over at Bringing Up Benjamin is starting a "Far Above Rubies" study - a look at a godly woman. Sounds like a good idea to me! Everyone is welcome, she says, and I think it's a great opportunity. Check it out, ladies! :)

*edit* To join in on Kristen's study, check back at her site for posts tagged with Far Above Rubies (clicking on the above icon will take you there automatically) and add your thoughts to the discussion in the comments section. You can easily subscribe to receive comment updates via email to keep up with the discussion, too. :) *end edit*