Good Purpose

For Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Proverbs 31:20-27

20 She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

The woman of wisdom engages in productive work for good purposes. Many people are productive so that they may enjoy wealth for themselves. Many work hard so that they can attain fame, wealth, and power for themselves. The wise woman works that she may help the poor and needy; that she may provide for her household. She is a blessing to her husband. Furthermore, her good work is not limited to the ability of her hands, but she teaches with wisdom; she teaches others what she has learned, what it is to be kind; she teaches the joy of doing good for others.

Do you work with the right motivation? Do you work so that you might bless others through your productivity? Are you kind? Do those who work with you or for you attest to the good spirit in which you work and treat them? Is your family blessed by your work - both in benefitting from your productivity and in being touched by the spirit in which you labor for them? Can your family trust you to provide, whether that "provision" be income or managing the home? Can people who depend on you know that you will come through for them, and that you will do so with a kind spirit? Such is the model that the excellent wife presents for us.