Proverbs 31 Woman:
I live my life for my Savior, Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for my sins. I am not perfect. I have many faults. I am a sinner. I always will be. We are all sinners. But through Jesus Christ, I am forgiven and promised an eternal seat in Heaven, by his side.
He is the Lord of my life, and that means I submit my will & my life to His plan and purpose. He is my shield in the storm, my peace in turmoil.
I raise my child from a Biblical standpoint. I will train Him up right. This means I pray for him, I teach him, I guide him and I do my best to model Christ-like behavior to him.
I am a Godly wife. God has chosen to bless me with a loving husband, a wonderful child and a beautiful home. I manage my household, tend to my family, pray for, support and lift up my husband. He is a Godly man who loves, respects, cherishes, cares for and exhalts me.
This does not make me [what some would call] "old-fashioned". I am not a "weak" woman. I am not "afraid" of men. I am not stupid, nor am I "non-thinker".
I am strong. I am valued. I am respected, honored, cherished, exhalted, virtuous, smart, capable, more precious than rubies, enriching, trustworthy, energetic, helpful, dignified, wise, kind, full of laughter and love, and PRAISED by God.
I have heard a lot of woman say that the Bible is sexist... that woman do not hold as high of value as men. But, Genesis 1:27 tells us that both man & woman were created in God's image. Both man and woman are created equally.
God created woman to be a helper for man. The Hebrew word used [for helper] was ezer, which simply means "to aid or to help". God is described the same way! Therefore, the word 'helper' is not meant to be subservient or derogatory. When God helps me, I do not feel better than Him. I feel grateful and blessed that He has helped me. Women are described in the same as God!
Striving to be a Proverbs 31 Woman is not a "death-sentence". It does not mean that we are weak women who grovel at the feet of our husbands. Instead, we are to take charge over the care and needs of our family, and manage our homes... and even maintain our own businesses! A Proverbs 31 Wife is not mistreated by her husband or children; she is praised and appreciated! Being a Biblical wife does not mean we are giving up our "independence" as women, or are we the "lesser" of the sexes. It means we are following God's perfect design.
I have also heard Epshessians 5:22-24 taken out of context: "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord."
The key words of this verse are "as to the Lord" - this means the submission must be within the context of God's will... if a husband asks his wife to do anything that does not line up with God's Word, she is not to do what he asks. If we read on to Ephessians 5:25, we will also notice that husbands are told to love their wives "just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." In this kind of love, a husband must give himself up, or sacrifice himself for the love of his wife:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives just as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, non one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body."
Looking at Jesus, we can see how God Himself treats women. Jesus always respected women, and he gave us examples of how women should be treated. In the time of Jesus it was not customary, nor considered appropriate, for a Jewish man to talk with a Samaritan woman in public. But, Jesus did not concern himself with traditions or customs of the time! He talked to women in public and treated them as equals. He showed no favoritism between men & women; he forgave their sins and healed them just as he did men. After he was put to death, women were the first people to see the angels and the first to see Jesus resurrected from the dead.
If God felt that women were responsible for anything other than serving men, he would not have chose women to be the first witnesses of the rebirth of Christ. They were the first believers in the Resurrection; technically being the first ones saved by Christ's blood.
Women were in fact, the first born-again Christians!
Being a Biblical woman does not mean we are subservient beings, merely controlled by men.
It means we are:
- Created equally as men; created in God's image.
- Have equal rights
- Are business & property owners, judges, leaders, fighters, heirs
- Are church founders, teachers and prophetess
- Are co-heirs in Christianity
- Are to be loved, respected, honored, cherished and praised!
We must remember that when something in God's Word seems wrong to us, it is not God who is wrong. God is perfect in all ways, and His Word lasts forever.
What a beautiful reminder of who we are in Christ. Thank you!
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