Focal passage: Proverbs 31:10-16, 23-31
It’s nearly impossible to avoid the dark cloud of reality television these days. I was recently subjected to an explanation of the plot of a dating reality show that ended with contestants marrying each other. Aside from the surrealist comedy of it all, there is a deep tragedy in what our culture values in selecting a spouse.
Mercifully, Proverbs provides us with a far more compelling portrait.
The portrait in Proverbs 31 centers on the wife, yet it provides all of us with a framework for the character to be cultivated as she submits her life to the Lord. This portrait of a godly wife should inform not just wives, but women in general and more broadly, all of us who seek to live lives that honor Christ.
The preciousness of this wife is characterized by her trustworthiness, her wisdom and diligence in work, and her care for her family among other things.
These all stem from her abiding trust and fear in the Lord. The evidences of her character flow from her dependence on God. She rejects that which is fleeting in pursuit of that which lasts.
There is honor and recognition for this woman, because her character is proven and her foundation secure in the Lord.
Do we honor and celebrate the same things as God? Do we overlook what God values because we have been influenced by what the world values?
May we reject all that takes us away from this vision and celebrate what God honors.