Today I began the most talked about chapter about women, Proverbs 31.
To type out all that my heart desires would be one very very long post! So I am going to divide it up and spend just an extra couple of days meditating on this chapter.
Today I am going to simply cover 4 verses. :)
Proverbs 31 begins with King Lemuel sharing with his son the words his mother taught him. In verse 3, the instruction is to not give his strength to women. Whereas, in verse 10, it begins speaking of the excellent or virtuous woman.
To me, it seems this is instructing a man to find a wife, not to simply enjoy multiple women. Interesting, as it seems even in today's culture, less and less men are getting married and settling down. Instead, their youth is spent enjoying many women. These women are not the same as the excellent wife mentioned in verse 10.
So, what is different about this excellent wife?
She has value! The kinds of women that it is implying about in verse 3 are loose and are probably the promiscuous type. The kind that are giving themselves to multiple men and are seen as objects instead of priceless treasures.
"The excellent wife who can find?" She is a rare treasure. She cannot be found among the multiple loose women mentioned in verse 3. She is different from those women. She values herself. She has no desire to be treated like an object. In verse 11, it mentions that her husband can trust in her. She is committed. She isn't going to be anywhere else. This makes her husband rich. Not necessarily in material things, but gives her husband value as a person. She has her husband's heart. This goes so beyond the superficial attraction of the multiple women in verse 3. This is a deeper relationship and trust that is precious and priceless when found. She is committed for life and desires to do good by her husband her entire life.
What I find interesting is that there is no "if" clause in these verses. It is just a matter of fact that no matter what she will do him good and not harm all her life. As any married woman knows, our husbands are not perfect (and neither are we) and it isn't always easy. But we need to always lift up our husbands and show them that regardless of their flaws, we will always do right by him. We won't hurt him, tear him down, or slice him with our words or actions.
What do these things do? They break the trust between a husband and wife.
So, as we strive to be excellent wives, let's be sure to uphold the trust that our husbands have in us. Let's build our husbands up with our words and actions. Let's remember that we have our husbands heart. Let's be excellent wives for the amazing men in our lives!
