A Guilty Mom

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.

               Proverbs 31:10

 

Oh, the guilt that comes from Bible study!

Taking a close look at the Proverbs 31 woman can cause a wife and mother to drown in her own sense of failure.

As a woman raised without Christ, I remember when women were staking a claim on many a territory that biblically belongs to men.  It’s difficult to find God’s blessings on such women in the Bible.

The Proverbs 31 woman, also known as “the virtuous woman,” apparently received the trust of her husband, the respect of her children and honor among those she interacted with, because her priorities were set according to the will of God. These are truly blessings.

She put her family above all else, except God.

She sold her goods to merchants but she was not employed in their stores, so not subject to their authority. She considered a field and bought it and her own workers planted and tended it. She did not go “out” to work.  Her work was based in her home.

This all proved fruitful for her relationship with her husband (he trusted her and called her blessed Proverbs 31:31:11, 28) and her children (who called her blessed Proverbs 31:28). It also appears to have contributed to the respect her husband received in his workplace (Proverbs 31:23).

This “virtuous woman” was the ideal of the woman King Lemuel’s mother wanted him to marry (Proverbs 31:1). She had the privilege to have servants and, as I was recently reminded, she did not have a government that took the first 30% of everything she made, so that investing was easier for her.

Guilt over these verses is futile. But, they are meant for instruction for young women who are wives and mothers now. Clearly, as an unbeliever when feminism was on the rise, I failed to really consider what the repercussions of my decisions about working outside of my home would have on my family.

Looking back, we made a lot of unwise choices and some that were not so bad. As we look now at the negative effect that feminism has had on families, I pray that this generation of mothers will consider their husbands and children in their decisions more than my generation did ours.

As women who “fear the Lord,” as the Proverbs 31 woman is described as doing, we can pray for His leading about our roles as wife, mother, and for income streams that will help provide for our families as we also care for them and honor God doing it.