Today's readings are Proverbs 31.10-31 and John 21.1-25.
Proverbs 31 is sometimes used in a very legalistic way. I've heard many women express guilt that they are not like the Proverbs 31 woman. This is the woman who is held up as an example, the paragon of womanhood, the one everyone must emulate. So as our culture demands woman must be in the paid work force, preferably with a "career " as opposed to a "job" we also have a Christian culture which demands these career women should engage in handiwork, investment, cottage farming, sewing, working from early morning to late at night, engaging in charity, and dressing herself and her family in lavish clothes. She's a philosopher who is well spoken of by her husband and family. Does this seem like a big job? Any takers? Seriously, the woman whose sense of worth is tied up in accomplishing all this is headed for major disappointment. It simply isn't going to happen.
Let's realize a few important details from this passage of Scripture. First, this is the paragon of womanhood. She is greatly valued. Greatly valued people are uncommon. Not everyone will be like this. But it's good to try to be worthy of great value, so we'll assume this is all good, though unlikely to see in reality.
Look at the ways the wife does her husband good. She works with the common materials of running the household. In the culture of the day, if you were going to have cloth, the wife made the cloth. She's taking the resources she has at her disposal for her daily operations and she is making the most of them. There. We can do that. She works willingly and carefully with her resources, both those that come from her own home and those that she has to go out to get. People are free to engage in trade as well as producing what they need at home.
What's all this about the long hours? The rising while it is night and the lamp not going out at night? Of course, when the wife gets up to start the fire and begin the day's work, her husband also gets up to go about is work. After all, livestock and fields need a lot of work, and if you are doing all your farm work by hand it's going to take some time. The lamp doesn't go out at night because the woman has prepared to have enough oil for the lamp that she has light as late as she needs it. But you simply don't do well as both an early bird and a night owl. This is simply an example of working diligently through the appropriate time, taking care of your family's needs.
What of the charity and lavish clothes? The Bible consistently reflects a world in which the diligent person becomes prosperous and has means to share. This is a diligent family. They have nothing to fear physically because God has rewarded their diligence. Does it happen instantly? Not always. Do some diligent people wind up in need? Sure they do. But generally diligence brings stability.
Likewise, what about the wisdom and the way the wife's husband and children treat her? Simply because you are wise doesn't necessarily guarantee your family will treat you well. But they have a lot more reason to do so. And people who see the ongoing diligence and wisdom of their family members generally develop a very healthy respect for them.
Now, what of the person who fails? After all, the excellent wife is rare. Otherwise she is a typical wife. What hope is there for all the typical wives out there? They have great hope, as their Lord and Savior will strengthen them also for their daily tasks. They too can use their resources as well as they know how. They too can work willingly and cheerfully. And they too can come to the Lord in sorrow when they have failed and see that our Lord forgives us and sets us about our work again.
