Be Timeless, Not Trending
Today we celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8th). First inaugurated in Eastern Europe in 1911, IWD is “a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.”
We would be remiss as a community committed to encouraging, empowering, and loving on women without taking some time to relish the huge strides social justice groups like the many supporting IWD have made and continue to make on our behalf. As women we hold high expectations for ourselves and for our opportunities and we rightly expect the rest of culture to embrace those same expectations. But as believers we must too hold tight to the equality that is promised as ours in Christ, even as we grasp for all in society that should be ours as well.
Galatians 3:27-28 tells us, “27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Let us never stop fighting for what is ours in this world. What doors we have rights to walk through and to kick open. But let us above all else, live out of our inherent equality in Christ. We should fight for what is ours in the eyes of the world, but we must rest in what is already ours in the eyes of God.
IWD has historically built their initiatives, campaigns, and purposes on ten primary values: justice, dignity, hope, equality, collaboration, tenacity, appreciation, respect, empathy, and forgiveness. Now these are ten principles we can stand on! But rather than look to social media or cultural models for how we live out these principles; rather than casting our hopes on trending hashtags or flashy media platforms, let’s look to the original woman “of noble character.” While many assume that biblical femininity at best, diminishes and at worst, condemns who we strive to be as women of equality and excellence in 2021, the opposite is actually true. The biblical woman sets the stage for all we know we deserve today. As we celebrate all that we’re made for and all that we have the right to be, let’s look back before we look forward, at the ultimate example of a “[woman] of noble character, who can find?” Let’s see how this example of a godly woman champions and paints the timeless picture of honorable womanhood.
The Proverbs 31 Woman
V.10 – “SHE IS FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN JEWELS.”
SHE IS FAR MORE THAN EXTERNAL BEAUTY OR MATERIAL GAINS AND SUCCESSES
V.11 – “THE HEART OF HER HUSBAND TRUSTS IN HER, AND HE WILL NOT LACK ANYTHING GOOD.”
SHE IS TRUSTWORTHY AND RELIABLE; SOMEONE WHO MEN NEED FOR SECURITY AND RELY ON
V.13-14 – “SHE SELECTS WOOL AND FLAX AND WORKS WITH WILLING HANDS. SHE IS LIKE THE MERCHANT SHIPS, BRINGING HER FOOD FROM FAR AWAY.”
SHE IS ASSERTIVE, SKILLFUL, AND PROACTIVE IN BUSINESS
V.15 – “SHE RISES WHILE IT IS STILL NIGHT AND PROVIDES FOOD FOR HER HOUSEHOLD AND PORTIONS FOR HER FEMALE SERVANTS.”
SHE IS HARDWORKING, A LITERAL BREADWINNER
V.16 – “SHE EVALUATES A FIELD AND BUYS IT; SHE PLANTS A VINEYARD WITH HER EARNINGS.”
SHE IS WISE IN JUDGMENT, ACTIVE IN BUSINESS, AND FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT
V.17 – “SHE DRAWS ON HER STRENGTH AND REVEALS THAT HER ARMS ARE STRONG.”
SHE IS EMPOWERED AND FORTHRIGHT
V.18 – “SHE SEES THAT HER PROFITS ARE GOOD, AND HER LAMP NEVER GOES OUT AT NIGHT.”
SHE IS PROFITABLE, DILIGENT, AND DOES NOT GROW COMPLACENT ABOUT WHAT IS HERS
V.20 – “HER HANDS REACH OUT TO THE POOR, AND SHE EXTENDS HER HANDS TO THE NEEDY.”
SHE IS A GENEROUS SERVANT; SHE KNOWS TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS REQUIRED
V.21 – “SHE IS NOT AFRAID FOR HER HOUSEHOLD WHEN IT SNOWS, FOR ALL IN HER HOUSEHOLD ARE DOUBLY CLOTHED.”
SHE IS PREPARED AS A CARETAKER
V.22 & 24 – “SHE MAKES HER OWN BED COVERINGS; HER CLOTHING IS FINE LINEN AND PURPLE…SHE MAKES AND SELLS LINEN GARMENTS; SHE DELIVERS BELTS TO THE MERCHANTS.”
SHE IS REFINED AND SUCCESSFUL
V.23 – “HER HUSBAND IS KNOWN AT THE CITY GATES, WHERE HE SITS AMONG THE ELDERS OF THE LAND.”
SHE IS AN ACTIVE SUPPORTER OF HER HUSBAND’S WORK AND A PILLAR OF RESPECT FOR HER FAMILY
V.25 – “STRENGTH AND HONOR ARE HER CLOTHING, AND SHE CAN LAUGH AT THE TIME TO COME.”
SHE IS CONFIDENT AND HUMBLE, OPEN HANDED WITH THE LORD’S UNKNOWN PROVISION AND PLANS FOR HER
V.26 – “HER MOUTH SPEAKS WISDOM, AND LOVING INSTRUCTION IS ON HER TONGUE.”
SHE SPEAKS TRUTH WITH GRACE IN LOVE; SHE DOESN’T CORRECT WITHOUT COMPASSION OR OFFER TOLERANCE WITHOUT TRUTH
V.27 – “SHE WATCHES OVER THE ACTIVITIES OF HER HOUSEHOLD AND IS NEVER IDLE.”
SHE IS A LEADER IN HER HOME AND COMMUNITY
V.28 – “HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED; HER HUSBAND ALSO PRAISES HER.”
SHE IS LOVED AND RESPECTED
What a picture of a powerful, self-sufficient, servant, businesswoman and friend! Bear in mind, in Hebrew culture, a woman’s greatest societal value came from her role as a wife and mother. But here in God’s word and God’s kingdom, there are endless arbiters of value beyond her role in the home, the foremost of which being her daughtership of the King.
The passage finishes like this:
V.30-31 – “CHARM IS DECEPTIVE AND BEAUTY IS FLEETING, BUT A WOMAN WHO FEARS THE LORD WILL BE PRAISED. GIVE HER THE REWARD OF HER LABOR, AND LET HER WORKS PRAISE HER AT THE CITY GATES.”
God’s plan for women is both/and! Spiritual and relational strength and servitude right along with worldly honor and reward for our works, deeds, and successes. In His eyes, in His plans, there isn’t an either or. Home or work, mom or CEO, feminist or homemaker. In His Kingdom, equality comes from standing on and striving for all the values we see in the Proverbs 31 woman, the same values that define IWD: justice, dignity, hope, equality, collaboration, tenacity, appreciation, respect, empathy, and forgiveness. Let’s celebrate these together as we honor God’s divine appointments for our lives and cheer on all who make IWD a reality!