As I've been thinking this week about the virtuous woman we talked about from Proverbs 31 I've been asking myself a lot of questions so I thought I would share some of my thoughts.
1. How do the virtues from the Proverbs 31 woman fit into today's world? I think if we look at some of the things that it talks about like a "to do" list for Christian Women and feel that we are failing if we don't spin and weave and work with flax and plant vineyards or even have a clue about how to do those things we're missing the big picture. Although they are still done and enjoyed by women around the world today, I'll bet most women aren't going to be involved regularly in those activities. The virtue of the woman doesn't lie in the specifics of her actions but in the characteristics that they represent. When we look at those we can see things like I mentioned before - characteristics that include: being trustworthy, hard-working, prepared, able to provide for her household, understanding of business, giving, wise, and kind. Those are still traits that we all still can and should seek after.
2. What other virtues might be important for a daughter of God? Some of the virtues that I felt are important for a daughter of God but weren't necessarily talked about (although I think some were hinted at or were very likely present because of the other ones mentioned) are faith, charity, self-worth, patience, and humility. I'm sure there are others that are important too, it's hard when making lists like these because some things are always left out. I believe that if there is anything virtuous or good we should seek to develop it.
3. Is it possible for any one person to have all these virtues? From what I have read no one is certain about the identity of the Proverbs 31 woman. Some say that she is Bathsheba, King Solomon's mother. Some say that she was a compilation of virtues from many women. Some say that she isn't a woman at all but is only a symbolical representation of wisdom defined in a feminine context. I don't think it really matters though. Ultimately I believe that it is possible for a woman to have all these virtues and more. I don't know however if it'll be in this life or the next. No one is perfect. We are mortal and fallible. I think that because of that we will always find ourselves lacking. Also, each of us is given different natural gifts for our own distinct missions here on the earth. We're made perfectly imperfect so that through our weaknesses we can gain strength through working to develop qualities that are weak and seeking out the help of others whose strengths compliment our weaknesses. I do think though that we are told that we need to work on becoming perfect and I've seen many mature women who I believe consistently show a heightened development of many of these virtues in their lives every day. Notice I didn't say a perfect development of the virtues because like I said, first- I'm not sure that's possible while we're here on earth; second- frankly, that's between them and Christ to judge not me because I certainly don't want to put that kind of responsibility or pressure on anyone.
4. Is there anything else important that we can learn from this passage? I'm sure that there are lots of little golden nuggets all through this passage. For me, I love that part of what makes her so strong is that she's constantly just taking care of the things that need to be done and because she's putting in effort she is blessed. She doesn't have to worry about the future, her family loves her and calls her blessed, she has many comforts of life. Her work has been mainly within the walls of her home and yet, the effect is almost impossible to measure. She works hard yes, but she receives the reward for her work. We have to know that if we are called to do hard things that there will be blessings. Maybe not at first, maybe not for a long time, but if we keep working and remain faithful we will be blessed accordingly.
What musings have you had as you've thought about virtue and the lessons from the woman of Proverbs 31?
Please stop by on Monday to help next week's discussion get going - what can we learn from Eve?
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