The Proverbs 31 Quest || pt 3

Miss 31's role as a wife continues with verse twelve in Proverbs chapter 31....

Proverbs 31:12
"She will do him good and not evil
all the days of her life."
                  

                   

"She will do him good and not evil...."

* Good - kindly; delight; cheerful; favor

* Evil - mischief; trouble; sorrow

I am guilty of this. In only a year and half of marriage, I have failed many times, choosing to do my husband "evil" instead of "good." When his attitude has not been to my liking, many times, I have opted to bring him sorrow as a sort of payback for his frustrated snap or shortness. Instead of submitting my emotions to the Lord and choosing to be kind and cheerful to bless my husband, I have chosen to take matters into my own hands which always leads to more evil than good. Miss 31 doesn't do that. She brings her husband delight. She brings her husband favor. She is a delight to be around and refuses to bring him harm with irritability.

Now, again, we all know that Miss 31 was not perfect. And we all know that we can never be perfect. However, the knowledge that perfection is unobtainable while we live in a sinful world, should never warrant our refusal to pursue the attributes and lifestyle of the Proverbs 31 woman. It is in our Bible for a reason. Jesus Himself said to be holy as HE is holy. Though we will never "arrive," Christ calls us to walk in the direction of holiness. In like manner, we should walk in the footsteps of Miss 31 and follow her example as a godly wife and mother.

"...all the days of her life." 

Wow. All the days of her life??

A few years ago, I read that portion and it took on a whole new meaning. ALL the days of her life. Notice that it does not say "all the days of her married life." Could it be that this speaks of purity? In our culture, there is the belief that we can live however we'd like, having fun in the dating world, stacking up dozens of past flights and relationships. Then when we marry, we suddenly have the assumption that commitment will come easily; that honor is a given; that loyalty and faithfulness are natural products of marriage. Far from it. If we, as singles, do not develop a lifestyle of honor and purity before marriage, then we should not assume that those things will come easily once our marriage vows are spoken. Miss 31 does her husband good and not evil all the days of her life. She brings him honor before their wedding day ever arrives. She brings him favor and joy, both prior to marriage and throughout their marriage. If you are reading and you are single, I challenge you to take this season of singleness to do your future husband good and not evil. In this season, I challenge you to honor him NOW in your actions and lifestyle. When you are in the company of men, I pray you will think of your future husband and imagine him beside you, then act accordingly. When you are tempted to flirt or seductively reveal parts of your body in immodest dress, I pray you will chose to bring your future husband favor by bringing dignity to his future wife - you! Begin a lifestyle of doing him good right now! And if you are reading this and you are married, then I challenge you to bring your husband kindness and cheerfulness and delight. I hope and pray that I will learn to opt for a more good approach when my flesh is tempted to react in mischief and evil. When he leaves his socks on the floor or makes a mess in the kitchen, instead of reacting with impatience and deciding to "tell him how it should be," let us chose to serve our husbands and develop a kind attitude. When he comes home frustrated and short, instead of letting it get to us and reacting with irritability, let us chose to act with grace and goodness. If you are anything like me, I'm sure you have a lot to learn too.

As we continue on our Proverbs 31 quest, let us seek the face of God and allow Him to reshape us into a woman who will do her husband good and not evil. Let us allow Him to mold our hearts and make us more soft and sweet, acting with cheerfulness and kindness instead of reacting with trouble and sorrow.
           

Proverbs 31:12
"She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life."