An Excellent Woman Part II

Yesterday I lamented over why I feel so inadequate when I compare myself to the Proverbs 31 woman. Well, I didn’t exactly lament, I more or less griped. But honestly, I still feel inadequate when compared to her. So that makes me wonder, I know that God created me fearfully and wonderfully. Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” And yesterday I saw in II Corinthians 10:12, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” So comparing ourselves to others isn’t wise.

Have I’ve been taught wrong all these years? Perhaps the Proverbs 31 woman isn’t the standard to live up to. She definitely was a virtuous woman, the Bible says so and the Bible is never wrong. We as people can misinterpret it and therein lays the issue. So let’s see why was she virtuous? Was it because of being the wife of a well-known husband? That leaves me out, he’s a great man but unless you live in our county you probably don’t know him. Was it because she was affluent? Count me out there! How about because she ran a home business and made sure she and her family were in the latest fashions? With so many losing their jobs, homes and barely scraping by I don’t think this was what made her virtuous either. How about being a good neighbor, wife and mother?

Was it the things she DID that made her virtuous? You could DO all these things and still not have virtue. And this brings me to the other virtuous woman in the Bible. She was the ONLY other woman in the whole Bible who was named as a virtuous woman. Can you guess who she was?

“And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.” Ruth 3:11

What a contrast between Mrs. 31 and Ruth….

Rich ~ Poor
Important Position ~ No Position
Business woman ~ Farm laborer
Expensive clothes ~ Poor clothes
Children ~ No children
Well-known husband ~ No husband
Buys a field ~ Works in a field

Achievements and position in life a virtuous woman do not make…The contrast above makes that clear, so why did the Word of God list them as virtuous? What did they have in common?

~Both feared the Lord.
~Both were in subjection to the authorities in their lives.
~Both lived their lives for others.
~Both were self-sacrificing.
~Both had the law of kindness in their tongues.

The deciding factor for whether or not you’re a virtuous woman isn’t what you do or how much of it you do; it’s the heart behind those things. Ms. P31 didn’t dress her family nicely so others would notice how well she did and be envious, she didn’t keep her house clean so others would admire her and she wasn’t a virtuous woman because she was on the Praise and Worship team or sang in the choir. She loved the Lord and she had this as her motivation for all she did. She was a virtuous woman because she was fulfilling the plan God had for HER life. (So please forgive me for saying you made me feel inadequate yesterday)

It isn’t what we do or who others think we are that make us virtuous, it is having a fear and love for the Lord and living for Him, as a result we live a life of obedience. A woman who works in the 3yo classroom who receives little to no recognition just may be more virtuous than the woman who sings the solo’s in choir and has people clambering for her attention after service. It’s not what you do; it’s the heart you do it with. Whether His plan for your life is being a woman who owns a business and is famous or being the mommy to a special child who will always need assistance, as long as we try to be obedient to all He calls us to do we will be virtuous in His eyes.

When I see that God put 2 amazing examples of virtuous women in the Bible I see how me feeling like such a failure was because I was focused on the wrong thing, I was focused on her achievements, not on the woman who feared the Lord. Any woman can be a virtuous woman; any girl can be a virtuous girl; it’s just a matter of fearing God, loving Him with all your heart and being obedient to Him.

It’s a lie from Satan that there is such a thing as a Perfect Proverb 31 Woman. It’s a lie she was put there to be our standard and we should try to achieve her accomplishments, those were hers to accomplish. Not ours. It’s a lie meant to bind us up in legalism and tie us in knots because we can never achieve all God called her to do. God called HER to do that, NOT us!  It’s meant to make us feel like I did yesterday, like giving up, like I would never measure up.

Let’s stop this lie that is spreading throughout the Bride of Christ that we should be Super Woman and be set free to love the Lord, sit at His feet and learn to love and fear Him, to obey Him and to teach others the same. All one has to do to be a virtuous woman is to obey God. Everything else follows.