Price Above Rubies: Her Compassion

   "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." -Proverbs 31:10



   Her Compassion  -Proverbs 31: 15

  In this day in age it is very easy to look around a see people who are in need. People who are in need of a Savior. People who are in need of a job, food, money, and a home. If we are among those struggling, it is easy to be blinded to the needs of others.

  " She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy" -Proverbs 31:15

 As Christians we have instruction from the Bible countless times to have compassion on the poor:
 Proverbs 14:31

He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

   Proverbs 19:17 

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again

Proverbs 29:7

The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.

Proverbs 31:9

Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

I will never forget in Germany, Sarah and I were at the PX (post exchange) and we were walking through the food court to leave. There was a lady there with five children. They were all disheveled looking, dirty faces, hair not combed. The mom was in raggedy clothes. She had a box of 3 chicken tenders, a fry, and a drink. She slowly handed out napkins, and divided up the chicken and fries between her 5 children and kept nothing for herself. She probably saved up just enough for that $4.00 meal and wanted to treat her babies. It broke my heart. If I had the money that day (unfortunately it was close to payday, so we were down to about $1.00 ourselves), I would have walked over and offered to buy her lunch.

The image of that mother and her children is still very vivid in my memory.

There are many stories like hers. There are many families that are going hungry or are cold right now while we sit in our warm houses, drinking our coffee, eating a breakfast that we might be complaining about (cereal AGAIN!), and we really do not realized how blessed we are. 

I know my little family brings in just enough money to get by. No savings, no extra to buy what we want every week, and sometimes it is frustrating. But I have to constantly remind myself that we have plenty of food in the kitchen and our girls are well dressed (thanks to grandparents and nice hand-me-downs!). Our bills our paid and we have a roof over our heads.

 When we start to forget how blessed we are, we start to lose focus on needs of others. We lose the perspective that maybe our lives are not as bad as we think, and stop seeing that they are those around us who need helping hand. We are fortunate enough to not be among those living in poverty. A virtuous woman sees that, and continuously puts the needs of other before her eyes.

 She sees needs where others do not, and willingly gives out of the compassion and kindness of her heart. 

 She sees the needs whether it be spiritual, emotional, financial, and she does so willing reach out and do her best to give them what they need.  She will speak of a loving Savior, she will be a shoulder to cry on, she will give money if she has it, and she will open her home to those who she needs truly a place to stay.

To be a woman with a price above rubies...it is not about the outward show, but the compassion driven heart that is willing to be used of God to meet a need of someone else.

Price Above Rubies: Her Character- Trustworthiness

 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."  - Proverbs 31:10

Her Character (Proverbs 31: 11-12, 20, 25-26)

 The Proverbs 31 woman is often pictured as a woman who wears a long skirt and has long hair. She gets up before dawn and already has a full breakfast on the table, she kisses her husband and children while vacuuming with one hand and reading the Bible with another. While this picture is all well and good, it is not realistic.
  While those things are always good things to work towards, lets face it...not everyone woman has the same dress conviction. Not every woman can get up at dawn, or cook from scratch, and some may not even be great multi-taskers. We have taken the Proverbs 31 woman and turned her into almost and idol of what we should worship instead of just a guideline of how we should work to be.
 Don't believe me? Here is an example: Picture walking in a store and two women are standing at in the produce section. One lady is in pants, a modern style shirt, shorter hair style, and maybe some highlights. The other lady has a dress to the floor, modest shirt,  and hair long-up in a bun. Now at first glance who would you choose as the godliest of the two? Who would you say is the Proverbs 31 woman?
 I know I automatically choose the lady in the skirt because she appears to be holy. How many of you would do so?
 We are very set on the image of being that perfect woman, that a lot of us forget that " the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (I Samuel 16:7)
 He sees our character and heart towards Him. He sees our motive and every reason behind why we do the things we do. So let us look at the character this virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 as God sees her.



 She is trustworthy.
" Thee heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life" Proverbs 31:11-12

 Before mentioning anything else the first thing God mentions is how her her husband trusts in her. A man who can trust his wife is a confident man. Husbands need to know that when worse comes to worse that their wife can be trusted to stay with them at their most vulnerable moments. 
 Men are the stronger vessel of the two. They are appointed heads of the household by God. They are providers and decision makers. But every strong vessel has a weakness, and when they have a wife they can trust in it strengthens them when they can occasionally show that weakness without fear.

 God tells us that a woman of virtue will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 
 Women are notorious for getting together and having a husband bashing party. "My husband don't do this this and this", "My husband said this, this, and this", " My husband doesn't do things I like", and the list goes on from there. Part of that trustworthiness a husband has in his wife is that she will not go and air out all of his dirty laundry to the world...and yet, that is what most women do when they get a chance. Last time I checked, we women do not walk around with halos on our heads. We would be mortified if we knew he was airing our dirty laundry out, or bashing us to his buddies about how bad we did things.
 Now, I am not saying if we are frustrated we should keep it pinned up. Sometimes it does help to talk to someone, but make it someone who is a like-minded christian lady who will not gossip with you, but council and help you. You also should be talking to your husband if you have any issues, not to a group of hens around a table at Starbucks.
 By airing his flaws, and not praising his goodness to you, you are doing evil by your husband. In reverse, brag about your husband and how he does good things for you...even it if is just bringing home a paycheck so you don't have to work(not many people have that luxury in this economy, so be thankful). Being good to him is keeping his flaws under wraps, and praying for him. Praying God will change his direction and his mindset. Only God can change your husband, and your honest prayers will be honored by the Lord.

If you are not married yet, the example can still apply to you. You can pray that God prepare you to be a trustworthy wife to your husband. It may seem a silly prayer, but in truth it is much easier than you think to pick apart his flaws and nag him when he is down. 

Although these particular verses are about our husbands, we can easily apply them to our other relationships.

 To be a woman with a price above rubies, we need to work prayerfully to be trustworthy.

Introduction to "Price Above Rubies (a look at the Proverbs 31 woman)"

 Writing has always been a enjoyable thing to me. I love putting out my experiences and failures out like an open book so hopefully I can encourage someone along the way with my ramblings.
  The more I blog and write stories the more I feel like I can use my writing for a greater purpose. A purpose to share another love of mine; stories and devotions from the Bible. It may not end up being a daily or a weekly thing, but I do want to start writing devotionals that deal with things I struggle with; and the more I have shared with other women I do not struggle alone.
 So starting tomorrow, I am starting a short series on Proverbs 31. I know that there are millions upon millions of outlooks, outlines, devotionals, and how-to's out there about this woman....but most I have read make her seem as though she is the perfect mother, the perfect wife, and the perfect woman. We as women know that we cannot be perfect (well, some of us anyway *wink wink* ^_^), and may feel as though being a godly woman/ wife/ mother is much harder than it is worth at times.
 I want to take a Biblical and a realistic look at her. I believe we can all obtain the title of a Proverbs 31 woman, but we must be willing to take the steps.
 Hopefully you will bear through my ramblings and see the Truth from the Lord and His word throughout the series.

In Christ,
Me :)