People of the Proverbs
Everyone knows about the Proverbs 31 woman. All the ladies want to be her and all the gentlemen want to marry her. The proverbs 31 woman is this idealized lofty woman who is good at everything and is a blessing to her family and husband. Many women have been discouraged when they look at her and look at their lives. But fear not ladies! You are not alone in this struggle. As high as a calling it is to be like this woman, as high as a calling it is to be the church, the calling to be Christ is that much higher. I’ve heard it said “The Proverbs 31 woman deserves a Proverbs 1-30 man.”
I finish my trek through Proverbs today 2 months after I started. I had originally planned to spend 1 month, a chapter a day, going through the book. However, I was captivated by its truths and slowed down my journey to stop and smell the flowers. I think about being the Proverbs 1-30 man. Someone who fears the Lord; hates what is evil and clings to what is good; someone full of wisdom, learning and growing rather than an unteachable fool; someone with control over their mouth and obedient, diligent hands and so much more. A man who trusts in the Lords and not in this world and so walks accordingly. This is the character of Christ, the embodiment of scripture, the character we are called to become.
If I wish to marry a woman of such excellence, I must become a man of equal excellence. We are called to become like Christ, embodying all of what Proverbs exhorts us to be. It is a book of instructions for life, instructions for Christ-like-ness.