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Day 55 Proverbs 12:4 Proverbs 12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that makes ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. From the time you were little you were told what virtue was, someone who was loyal, knew right from wrong, practiced fidelity in marriage, did whatever it took to get a job and hold onto it, do the best you could in school. On the other hand, you also knew what caused shame in a person, those who hung around with people with no moral values, was always in trouble, was not honest or of good report. You tended to stay away from those people, and chances are you still do. Solomon already had a lot to say about an unvirtuous woman in the first chapters of Proverbs and he also goes into the traits of a virtuous woman, otherwise known as the Proverbs 31 woman. Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she brings her food from afar. 15 She rises also while it is yet night, and gives meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds her loins with strength, and strengthens her arms. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is good: her candle goes not out by night. 19 She lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes fine linen, and sells it; and delivers girdles unto the merchant. 25 Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excel them all. 30 Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. When you read through that list of the virtuous woman, you wonder if there is any around today. You also wonder if any one person can do all that. Yet when Solomon wrote that, it was possible to find such a woman. It was his own mother who told him about such women. Today you might know some women who can do some of the things this woman did, and you might be able to boast about some of those qualities. However, can you honestly say you possess all those traits? What is a virtuous woman today? Don’t you consider a woman virtuous if she minds and tends to the affairs of her household and doesn’t go trying to manage someone else’s, otherwise known as a busybody? Don’t you consider a woman who submits herself to her husband and doesn’t go out on the town with the girls and meet up with guys to have some ‘fun’ as a virtuous woman? You all know them, the unvirtuous woman, the woman with the bad reputation that brings shame on her household. You know them because you steer clear of them whenever they are around, but you are more than willing to hang around the water cooler and hear the latest escapade about her. What kind of person does that make you if you are ready to listen to gossip, instead of turning away from it and minding your own business? If you are a Christian, it’s time to put into practice those attributes that set you apart as a virtuous woman, and not just women, but men too. Men are just as guilty of bringing shame on the family as the woman is. It’s time to take care of your family. If you are a man, then you need to be the head of your home, and if you are a woman, you need to submit to your husband and let him lead and you follow, with quiet submission, not with loud accusations about what he’s done now. It’s time to lead a virtuous life. Are you ready? Let’s pray: Father, help me be virtuous and never bring shame on my family. Help me be all you have purposed for me to be within my family, and not be a busybody in someone else’s, bringing shame to mine. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 31 October 2016 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay