The Benefits of Good Character

 

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31:25 NIV

The Wife of Noble Character is a surprisingly modern example of a successful woman. She gets up before dawn and begins her work of spinning and weaving, she provides food for her family and servants, she feeds the poor, she buys a field and plants a vineyard.  Her business acumen makes her enough money that she does not have to ration her candles.  She makes warm clothes for her family and servants, and sells fine garments she has sewn. Her strength, dignity, intelligence and diligence have given her stability and financial security. Even if her husband died, she would still be able to care for herself and her family. She is a woman who has invested in developing her character and abilities. Her husband, children, and fellow townspeople  respect her wisdom and commitment to her family. Interestingly, in the twenty-one verses that describe her, no mention is made of her physical appearance. It is not important. She understands that beauty is fleeting and that it is good character that will last and bless her family and friends. We live in a society obsessed with outward beauty. How sad that we don’t value good judgment and moral uprightness. What a shallow measure of a person is physical attractiveness.

I thank God for my wrinkles and gray hairs that attest to the gift of long life He has given me.  I will remember that trusting in God  will greatly lessen any anxieties I might have in unsettled times, and that my faith  will help me to laugh and be joyful even as I reflect on my aging body.