All my life I thought that Proverbs 31 was written by a man to honor his wife. OR something like that. Maybe you are a detail person and you noticed the beginning of the chapter, but I didn’t.
I often tell a very funny story about Proverbs 31 that involves a night club dancer in Vegas and a tattoo. You should ask me to tell it to you sometime. But I digress.
I just noticed this past week that the chapter introduction says "The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.”
I’m not sure how I feel about Lemuel’s mom. She sure did paint a picture of a virtuous woman that Christian women have been comparing themselves to for thousands of years. I wonder if she felt she was that woman or if she was simply wishing her son would find someone like that. But it has sure messed up expectations since!
Check out the chapter sometime if you haven’ t already…. she never sleeps — she is up early and her lamp doesn’t go out at night. Her husband has full confidence in her. She dresses well, keeps an impeccable house, and also is shrewd in her business dealings. She’s never idle, her husband praises her, and this one always cracks me up, “her children rise up and call her blessed.” My kids rise up and call me things, but I’ve never heard the word blessed!
Our expectations for ourselves and for each other can kill us. If we head into marriage believing we are going to be the “Proverbs 31” woman — or if a man goes into marriage thinking he’s marrying one, we are in big trouble. Because we will never measure up.
But that is where grace comes in. Grace that we offer not only to the people around us but also to ourselves. None of us can be perfect — that is God’s job.
So give yourself a break today. Do your best and leave the rest to God. He’s not expecting you to do anything more than that!
No comments:
Post a Comment