Her Price: Her Value (Prov. 31 Series)

When I started thinking about this next phrase, I had to really do some soul searching on my own.

"...her price is far above rubies."

Let's look at the word, price. The meaning of this word is also value. What is your value? In our modern day and even back in history, the woman was not valued very highly. In some civilizations she was valued equally with an animal. Something to be used and exploited. It is some better in our day and in this part of the world, but there are still places where our gender is not valued. There are men that aren't valued by their women either. Shame on us! This saddens me and burdens me to the point of grief. 

You will find the difference of people giving value when they begin to see how God values a person. Let's look at the meaning of value as a verb. The action of giving value. What does that look like?

- to consider with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness or importance.

- to regard or esteem highly

When you give value to someone, this is what it looks like. Are you giving value to yourself and the people around you? Why should we? God did! 

Gen. 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and email created he them."

Gen. 1:31a "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold it was very good!..."

Psalm 8:5 "For thou hast made him (man/woman) a little lower than the Angels, and has crowned him with glory and honor."

Where do we go to feel like we are valued? Our worth? If we are searching for worth from any human being on this earth, we will never find it  fully. We will always be disappointed. Our husbands can't give it to us fully, or boyfriends, or parents, or friends, etc. The One who created us is the one that gave us value and worth. We find our worth and value in God alone. 

Are you the needy person that is always trying to find compliments and praise for what you do in order to put value on who you are? Stop! Find your worth and value in Christ alone! Learn to say with David in Psalm 139, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knows the right well." 

An interesting note: why did Solomon compare our price to rubies? Every wonder? I am always asking questions and there are times when I find answers. The ruby is most sought after, even more than diamonds. The ruby is associated with beauty and wisdom. Almost all the rubies that are found have flaws in them. 

Now I found that very interesting. Even though they have flaws they are still very highly prized. There's hope for us!!! It humbled me to know as well, that I am worthy even though I am flawed. Christ came for flawed people. He has a solution. That is why He died on the cross to take on Himself the flaws that we have to give us a perfection that is all His own. Now that is giving value! That is giving worth, That is giving honor! 

If we don't feel valued and worthy, then we are looking to the wrong source for that value. Stop and turn the Heavenly Father for that. Only then can we be who we ought to be in our roles that God has given to us. Only when we can see the value that God puts on us, can we begin to put value on the people around us. We then know how to give respect, honor and worth to the people that are important in our lives. This is how we "love our neighbors as ourselves." 

A Virtuous Woman (Prov. 31 Series)

I’ve heard the cry of many women who have looked at the illustration and definition of a woman that Solomon makes in his book of Proverbs. Many lament that fact that the woman just doesn’t exist and is an impossibility to even try to imitate it in our modern day.

Being the radical that I am, I began to ask the questions. Why is it in the Bible if it was meant for nothing? Why is it in there if it is an impossibility? What makes that woman unreachable? Why do we feel like we can’t add up to the character traits of that woman?

So as I began to study and ask God for some answers, I would like to encourage each of you to reconsider and see what it really is that God and Solomon are trying to say here. Let’s look at the meaning of words, lets pick it apart and find out what it really is that we, as women, are to be. Men, you can listen in, because you become involved as well.

“Who can find a virtuous woman?” (vs. 10)

So the man had an idea of what a virtuous woman was and wanted to find one. The man that had 700 wives was still looking for a virtuous woman? How sad that is. I notice right away that he didn’t say a perfect woman, because there is no such thing. A perfect man can’t be found either. So knowing that brings hope to each of us.

So let’s get a description of what this woman was like just by the very adjective Solomon uses to describe her.

Virtuous.

I always thought this meant sinless, perfect, pure and clean. A calm and meek woman that never raised her voice and always moved in a calm intentional manner. I knew I wasn’t that kind of woman. It was an impossibility if that is what we picture virtuous to be. We cannot measure up to that because that isn’t what that word means in this context at all. I went on a word study with this.

The very first meaning I found was, “probably a force.” Well, I’ll say!! We sure can be that!

It continued, “Probably a force, whether of men, means, or other sources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength.”

Are you starting to get a different picture than what I had first imagined? There is nothing weak about this ‘virtuous’ woman at all! She is a force to be reckoned with, one of strength and valor! This word was used to describe an army preparing to go to war.

This is a woman you don’t want to be against, but an ally on your side!

This woman is described as having strength, might, ability, and efficiency.

When I read this definition, I was reminded of Deborah, judge of Israel, and her strength of character as she took her position seriously under God. I would say that she was a great example of a ‘virtuous’ woman. Read all about her in Judges 4.

So as we continue, we will be looking at the character traits of this woman and seeing what God has for us. We know that we are nothing without God, so our first step in this direction is to put ourselves into His hands and ask Him for wisdom in being a woman of character and valor. One that will have strength, abilities, and efficiency in our very being.

Let’s get back to the very basics and the root of things. Let’s find out what God really says about us and why our roles are so important to make a force to be reckoned with. It truly is a relationship working with each other to be effective in the Lord’s work.

CHANGE – Scary or a Blessing?

Many of us do not even like the word. We don’t want to do the word. We become very stubborn and obstinate when the word makes an appearance in our lives. 

Yet it comes and is constantly working in our lives no matter what we want. Our circumstances are constantly changing. Our physical bodies are constantly changing. Our spiritual lives are also changing. Our mental beings are changing. 

The very act of waking in the morning is a change of what was. We were sleeping and now we are awake. That is a change. 

So when we say that we don't like change, we aren’t being fully truthful. What we really are saying is that we don’t like the changes that aren’t for the better. If we were blessed with a better income, a new car, an unexpected visit from a good friend, etc., we would love that change. We would call it a blessing. We like change in this case. 

But when the changes come that are abrupt, hard, and seems to make more work, and that alters the very way we do life, then it is hated, scary, and very unpleasant. These kinds of changes are the ones when we say we don’t like change. 

We are creatures of habit. We get into a rut that is hard to climb out of. We become very comfortable where we are and with what we do. We become complacent in our actions. This is when we become lazy. We don’t want to change. It would be uncomfortable to change. It would mean we would actually have to put in some energy to make changes. We become lethargic, passionless, even spiritless in many cases. 

Change does not have to be scary; it truly can be a blessing. Fifteen months ago our family had a drastic change when my father had a stroke. This was an abrupt and drastic change. It was an unpleasant change, a hard one. This change was scary, it was really not a fun or enjoyable time to go through. Our choices were given: we roll with it, we walk away from it, we allow others to dictate to us what we had to do, we give up and just let anything happen, etc., or we could embrace it and learn about health, anatomy, etc.  These were some of the choices we were faced with many days. How does one turn a scary change into a blessing?

It can be done. It takes energy, work, sleepless nights, research, prayer and more prayer. We chose to make the change into a blessing. It was hard, very hard! We started asking questions, learning basic health and anatomy, we questioned everything so we would hear answers. We searched for answers. We prayed for wisdom, we prayed in repentance for allowing laziness and non-commitment to be a part of our daily lives. 

Because of this change that came so very hard and abruptly, our family has learned some lessons of living. We were brought back to the basics of what God set up for humans from the very beginning of time. Since God created us, we knew that He had the basic guidelines for living and had given them to His people. So we searched and prayed. We started finding answers of why, of what, and the consequences that come of our very simple actions. We are still learning. 

Because of these changes, our family has improved in health, in mental function, and also in our spiritual lives. We have become radicals because we go back to the basics and find the root of things. We want to know the very basics of eating, working, sleeping, relating, and God Himself. This has brought us to a way of living that is new and different than what is ordinary or traditional. That’s radical. 

Our world today has become caught up with what is convenient. We don’t question the things that are offered to us. We just take and use because they are convenient. I’m not against making life easier in some areas. We don’t have to do everything the hard way. What I am saying is that we don’t question anymore. We don’t even care. We don’t want to know why. This leaves us open to others dictating to us of  what we do, how we do, and how we live. It came down to how we wanted to live. Did we want to follow God, who created us, or were we going to allow the world around us to tell us how we should live?

It’s time we wake up and start finding out what the consequences are of our actions and our inaction. Too often we know we should change, but we do nothing. Just knowing will not make a difference. We have to put some hard work and action to our choices. What change will you embrace and make into a blessing?

Radical vs. Fanatical

The meaning of the words that we use should be something that we know and not just by what we hear. These two words have been fascinating to me the last while because we hear them bantered about with the political and religious news that keeps coming up all around us. So in my curiosity I decided to really see what they mean. Are we using them correctly? I wanted to find the basic, root meaning of them.

Here is what I found:

Radical: relating to the most basic or important part of something; very basic and important; a radical change or way of doing something, is new and very different from the usual way; very new and different from what is traditional or ordinary.

Fanatical: behaving in an unreasonable way as a result of very strong beliefs; marked by excessive enthusiasm and often uncritical devotion; motivated or characterized by an extreme.

As I look at these words, I ask myself whatever does this have to do with healthy and simple living?

I think it has a lot to do with it. When we look at the things that make us healthy and see that the normal, accepted way in this day and age has nothing to do with keeping us healthy and well. It has everything to do with where I can make the next dollar for my own benefit. So it is time to go back to the root and the important part of healthy living. It is time that we become radical in our journey for truth and health. Going back to the basics of what God has said and provided is about as far back as we can go. God has provided the very things that we need to live here on this earth. He laid the foundations for us to live and to be successful in our lives.

When we become fanatical we begin to be unreasonable and often spout our beliefs whether they are based on truth or not. The emphasis we find in this definition is in the extremes of the belief. Unreasonable and excessive give us the feeling that it isn’t based in the root or the foundation, but it has drifted to be out on a limb somewhere with no connection to truth or God.

So as we search to find wisdom in our journey to health and simple living, are we radical and ready to find the root or foundation? Are we ready to walk into something new and not be a part of the usual way than what is normal in our day? Are we willing to step out and be different because it is the way to health and life?

Have we become fanatical to where there is not basis of truth in what we do? Are we out on a limb and our only answer is ‘because’ when asked why we do what we do?

As we contemplate the meaning of these words, let us ask for wisdom in knowing what is truth and the right path to take.

The prophet Hosea told the people what God said about searching for knowledge and wisdom. This is what it says in chapter 4, verse 6:

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, though shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou has forgotten the law of they God, I will also forget they children.”

Don’t you think it is time that we do some searching for truth and not just go along with whatever we are told? Look, read, search, know the truth! And above all, ask God for wisdom in teaching you what is the foundation of healthy and simple living. He knows!