Behind Every Excellent Woman - Day 257 Month 9-13 Week 35-5
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
2 Kings 12:4-13:13, Proverbs 31:10-21, Ezekiel 48:30-35, Ephesians 1
Behind Every Excellent Woman
As I was reading from Proverbs today I was quite impressed by the description of the “excellent wife.” We did not even read the whole section of the excellent wife but here are some of the things it describes. I should note that this is my interpretation and not a quote of Proverbs. If you want the words from Proverbs, go back and read it 🙂:
More valuable than jewels
She’s trustworthy
The husband only gains from being married to her
She does only good for her husband
She shops, in fact going great distances to get what is needed
She works
She wakes up early to provide food for her household
She is a business woman
She is strong
She works late
She gives to the poor and needy
She clothes her household
We are only half way through the descriptions of an excellent wife. I sense she is not human. I can hardly wait to see what she does tomorrow.
I don’t see anything written about the “excellent husband.” Scripture was written in a culture where women generally had far fewer opportunities and a different social position than women do today. The expected roles of husbands and wives were also very different. Yet when I read the description of the excellent wife, I don't see someone sitting around waiting for her husband to come home. I see a remarkably capable woman who works, manages her household, conducts business and cares for others.
Unfortunately, I think some of those old expectations still exist. In many households the woman still carries much of the responsibility for serving the husband and family. I also have noted that even when it seems wives have generally served their husbands and family, they often have full time jobs. For a woman to do all the descriptions we noted above and carry a full time job, it just seems wrong. Well that’s certainly my opinion.
In my family, that is Sylvia and myself, we share duties and we recognize some things she does better and some things I do better. Sylvia generally does grocery shopping because I detest shopping. I do heavy manual labour that’s required because I’m stronger. I design renos and we both generally participate in the reno projects. I look after vehicle maintenance because I know a little more about it. Sylvia oversees garden maintenance because I’d unknowingly pull out the good plants and leave the weeds. The list goes on and on.
Marriage is a partnership. Even though Proverbs speaks very little about the excellent husband, it has plenty to say about laziness. The word sluggard is used 14 times in Proverbs. It is often associated with lack of wisdom and poverty.
The “excellent wife” is a wife who is clearly not lazy. I believe the “excellent husband” is also not lazy. If in fact both husband and wife are active and caring for each other, the list above applies to both. It becomes a life together of mutual responsibility. So let me rewrite the list with a husband's response.
More valuable than jewels - He recognizes her value
She’s trustworthy - He is also trustworthy
The husband only gains from being married to her - The wife gains from being married to him
She does only good for her husband - He does only good for his wife
She shops, in fact going great distances to get what is needed - He helps.
She works - He had better be working too.
She wakes up early to provide food for her household — He makes sure she gets to sleep in when she needs it.
She is a businesswoman - He supports her business
She is strong - He had better be strong too
She works late - He makes sure she gets the rest she needs
She gives to the poor and needy - He gives to the poor and needy
She clothes her household - He also clothes his household.
An excellent wife isn't excellent because she serves a man well. She's excellent because of the kind of person she is. I’ve heard it said that “behind every successful man there is a woman.” It should also be said that “behind every excellent woman is an excellent man.” It really is a partnership.
Have a great day!
Steve
You can subscribe to this blog and receive an email each day or week. Just visit the following link. https://follow.it/my-faith-view-from-here-daily-readings-and-thoughts?leanpub
Comments
Post a Comment