INTRODUCTION:

In our day there have been several books written in which people are encouraged to strive for excellence (as opposed to mediocrity and perfection).  No doubt there are some helpful suggestions in these books.  But the qualities that are revealed to us in Proverbs 31 cannot be excelled.  The woman who makes these qualities her own is “excellent” or virtuous by God’s decree.  These qualities are within the reach of any woman who will set her sights on attaining them.  The results of her virtuous living are also generally available to those who will follow the pattern.  Let us turn our attention to four results of such a way of life.

VIII. SHE HAS ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH THOSE IN NEED.

 A. Industrious, hard working, people are not always the selfish misers that the media make 
  them out to be.
  1. The virtuous woman works to be as productive as she can reasonably be.
  2. But the motive is not selfishness.  She is at least partially motivated to work hard 
   because she has the express desire to share with those who are in need.
 B. “She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy” 
  (Proverbs 31:20).
 C. Some people can never have enough in the bank to feel that they can give to others or to 
  important works.  Some speak of what they WOULD give if they had more than they now
  have, but they never seem to reach a level that allows them to give liberally.  The virtuous
  woman divides what she has and shares with those in genuine need.  She knows that “He that   hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him
  again” (Proverbs 19:17).
 D. Like Dorcas, Phebe, and others in the scriptures, the virtuous woman is not self-centered.
 E. Let us not become so involved in getting that we forget the need to give. 
 
 

IX. HER WORK HAS PREPARED HER FOR FORESEEABLE CHALLENGES.

 A. Like the ant she has taken care of those things that need to be considered in advance.
  1. Too often we live only for today.
  2. While it is a righteous thing to not become anxious concerning the future 
   (Matthew 6:25-34), it is also a virtuous thing to make preparation for it.
  3. It may be that one of the best ways to avoid becoming anxious about the 
   future is to be reasonably prepared for those things that we are capable of 
   foreseeing--and to put our trust in God concerning those things that we
       cannot foresee.
 B. “She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed 
  with scarlet.  She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple 
  (Proverbs 31:21,22).
  1. She could comfortably rest when cold weather came along because she had 
   supplied herself and her household  with clothing equal to it.
  2. They could rest warmly and comfortably on the pillows that she had made.
  3. And she could rest, not only comfortably dressed, but nicely dressed in silk 
   and in “purple,” which is believed to have been a very nice, but not ostentatious, 
   cloth imported form Phoenicia.
  4. Notice that she provides nice things for her family--and for herself.  This passage 
   does not contradict other passages that relate to modesty.
  a. “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, 
    with shamefacedness and  sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or 
    pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing 
    godliness) with good works” (I Timothy 2:9,10).
   b. There is a reasonable balance between the idea that a godly woman 
    must dress in clothing made from feed sacks and the idea that she may 
    dress in whatever showy (and revealing) clothing she  wishes.
   c. There is certainly nothing wrong with dressing in nice, attractive 
    clothing that does not violate other principles in the Bible.  The virtuous
    woman does so.
 C. Like the farmer who hired a man to help on the farm.
  1. When hired, the young man listed among his qualifications the fact that he 
   could sleep when the wind blows.
  2. The owner did not understand the meaning of this until one night when a 
   violent storm came up.  He tried to waken the young man to help get everything 
   under cover and closed up, but was unable to do so.  When the owner  went out 
   to take care of things himself, he found that all had already been done.
 D. Many things need to be considered ahead of time.
  1. The time to learn the contents of the Bible is not when you are confronted with 
   an agnostic professor at a state university (I Peter 3:15).
  2. The time to obey the gospel and to serve God is not  “someday” (II Corinthians 6:2).
  3. An officer I knew in the military would come in and say, “Let’s look down the 
   pipe and see what’s coming up.”
  4. The virtuous woman can resist anxiety by thinking of the needs of her household 
   before those needs actually arise.

X. HER HUSBAND IS HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM.

 A. Of course this presupposes that he is a man in other ways worthy of such esteem.
  Assuming that the virtuous woman  has a virtuous man for a husband, it is easy to see 
  how she can contribute to his success.
  1. By taking care of many domestic issues, she has freed him to pursue other 
   matters without concern about those matters.
  2. By giving him moral support in the work that he is doing.
  3. He would be seen as a man of good judgment for having selected such a wife!  
   Just as people judge guilt by association, they often judge positive qualities by          association.  Her own works praise her at the gates too.
 B. “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land”
   (Proverbs 31:23).  “Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise 
  her in the gates” (Proverbs 31:31).
 Knowing that not all women who now want to become virtuous women have always made the best
  choices in the past and knowing that some will find themselves married to men who do not possess 
 those qualities that would tend to earn them  respect, the question arises:  “How can such a woman  
 contribute to his improvement?”
  1. Because he has a free will and no amount of virtuous  living on the part of the wife 
   can “make” him improve himself, there is nothing that can be done to “change”
    him.  All attempts to “make” him improve himself ought to be abandoned.
  2. But the best way for such a woman to increase the likelihood of seeing him 
   improve himself is to live virtuously before him and to refrain from “nagging”
   him about those areas in which he needs to improve (I Peter 3:1-6).
  3. The same kind of living that helps to maintain a virtuous man at his best also 
   helps a man who is less virtuous to  want to make progress.  No matter where 
   your husband may be right now, he will be a better man with a virtuous wife.

XI. HER LIFE HAS EARNED THE PRAISE OF MANY.
 

 A. Here it is important to stop and consider whose praise is really significant to us.
  1. After all, no one can ever expect to please everyone.
  2. What wins the approval of most people earns the scorn of others.
  3. Since we cannot please everyone, we might as well decide whom we will please.
 B. Virtuous living earns for her the praise of those who matter most.
  1. Her children (v. 28a).
  
2. Her husband (v. 28b).
  3. God (entire chapter 31; I Peter 3:4).
  4. Others (v. 31).
 C. A great many (a very vocal minority, I think) in our culture have little respect for the qualities
  that are praised in this chapter.
  1. Courting their favor at the expense of God’s, our family’s, and godly people’s favor is
   an expensive exchange.
  2. Attempting to be charming and beautiful to gain the approval of those who judge 
   according to Hollywood standards is like aiming at a moving target.  And it is a
    fickle kind of approval that disappears with the passing of the years even if it can 
   be had at all.
  3. “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she 
   shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).
 D. If you are willing to trade the eternal approval of God for the fleeting approval of mortals, 
  then there is little more that we can say to you.

CONCLUSION:

Rise above the crowd and accept the challenge of being a truly virtuous woman.  Then it may be accurately said of you:  “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all” (Proverbs 31:29).
 

         Tim Nichols