Proverbs 31:16-19 is about money. Money is important to everyone. Not one person can say that they go a day without thinking about money. Whether you're thinking about things that you want to buy, wishing you had more money, or how you're going to spend your money, money is always on our minds. It's one of those things that's accidentally instilled into us from when we're pretty little. But relax, it's not completely your own fault. We live in an extremely materialistic, money-centered culture. Why do you think that our country's workforce has the lowest amount of vacation of all of the first world countries? We want money, we want things, because money equals status.
The Proverbs 31 woman is resourceful. Verse 16 talks about her planting a vineyard. The Proverbs 31 woman knows her stuff. She's a legit businesswoman, she's planting a vineyard. Vineyards always have been profitable so basically, she realizes that it's not only the husband's responsibility to provide for the household. As most of the people I know (and little old me) are not married yet, this verse challenges us ladies to step up. Lots of girls joke about becoming a trophy wife or getting married right away so our dads can stop taking care of us and our husbands can start paying the bills. 95% of us are half-kidding when we say that, but being a college student has made me understand why anyone would consider that. Unfortunately, that is not the way we are called to live our lives. We are called to be financially savvy and help our husbands out, even though he is to be our provider. Investing and reinvesting our resources, whatever they may be.
Verse 17 describes the strength of the Proverbs 31 woman, due to her work. In this aspect, God didn't mean for us to be weak beings. God made women strong, resilient, and determined. If you don't believe me, think about the last time you asked your parents to buy you a pair of shoes or something that you couldn't afford. Those shoes are in your closet now, aren't they? We can be convincing, cunning beings and God is asking us to use the skills that He gave us for hard work. Not necessarily manual, back-breaking labor, but to each her own.
In verse 18, Solomon (the writer) discusses my least favorite part of this passage. Solomon says that her candle does not go out by night, which in modern day English translates to: she works pretty dang hard during the day and that doesn't stop just because the sun goes down; and by the way she also gets up early too. I love my sleep. One of the only things that I love more than getting a good night's sleep is my cat. And I love my cat. But in all reality, this verse just means that she takes good care of her household. The Proverbs 31 woman appreciates her household and family, she also works hard to keep them. So every girl that's looking forward to her diamond diploma and is just ready to be a wife, awesome (I know that some of you follow that Twitter account, don't deny it. It's the best). This part will be easy for you.
This passage has been opened my eyes to my financial responsibility to myself and to God. Really this verse is just asking the women of the world to be financially wise, responsible, hard-working women. It's not an outrageous request, it's good for you. Why wouldn't you want to be someone with a good work ethic? All of these traits that God is requesting us to develop are admirable, however hard it might be. I know, because I want to buy EVERYTHING. Clearly, that's not the responsible thing to do. I actually started this weird habit of shopping online, adding everything I want to the cart and then clearing it out because the total's always like $700 and I'm poor. There are better alternatives but, I believe that my method has worked out pretty great so far because I haven't done anything except pay my sorority dues and buy gas. Anyways, just think about it. Take a few minutes to read Proverbs 31 today!
Proverbs 31:16-19
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