The Proverbs 31 Woman

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
She is like a merchant's ship,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her houshold
and plan the day's work for her servant girls.

She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vinyard.
She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamps burn late into the night.

Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm clothes.

She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with other civic leaders.
She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to all the merchants.

She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instruction with kindness.
She carefully watches over everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.

Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
"There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!"

Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.


So I saw this video that kind of set of a series of thoughts in my mind. It was by a young man who had been on facebook during the Victoria's Secret fashion show, and saw all these girls making comments like "Gotta hit the gym!" He was saying how we shouldn't focus on things like beauty or how hot a woman is when looking for a wife. You should focus on finding someone that would fit Proverbs 31.

As a mother of boys, this is something I really hope to instill in them. Like the verse said at the end, charm is deceptive and beaty fades. One of the things I really want for them is for them to be able to look for the important qualities in a woman - and in people in general. I don't want them to focus on the body or the face of a person. I want them to focus on the heart of a person.

So how different would our society be if we focused on being Proverbs 31 women instead of looking like Victoria's Secret Models? What if we focused on being a good person, not the way we look? How would things change?