I think we often forget about the author of Proverbs 31 -- King Lemuel's mom. The Proverb starts out identifying the author as: "The sayings of King Lemuel -- an oracle his mother taught him..."
The first nine verses outline something very different than the characteristics of a godly woman. They basically give an outline about the responsibility of leadership. They are to pretty much forsake the pleasures of wine and beer. They should leave that to the perishing and those who are in anguish, that they may drink and forget their poverty. I can imagine the people who lived under a king who threw them parties would love their king. The working man and the majority would probably appreciate a leader who thought of them and rewarded them with parties instead of yelling at them all the time and treating them like trash.
Lemeul's mom also gave her son this wise advice:
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy."
This is one of the traits that this Proverbs 31 woman is known for -- "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."
Selfless love is a common thread woven through noble and upright characters throughout history. That emotional tug that we get in dramatic movies where we begin to root for the underdog... This is likely a God-given trait that His Spirit wants to nurture and see us use. One question that gets asked every now and then by believers is: "Why are we here?" If you think about it, our forgiveness means salvation and our citizenship is granted to Heaven. But God doesn't just take us up their immediately. Why? Well, He must have some purpose. This is likely where the Teachings of Christ come in. The Work He did (on the cross) is all important, and it accomplishes much. But why are we here? I believe that the Holy Spirit wants us to impact the world. Most of the time it's one person at a time. Loving others and looking after the needy.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at June 20, 2005 08:40 AM