Reading for Today:
Proverb Chapter 31
Gold Nugget
Verse 23: “Her husband is known in the gates, when he
sits among the elders of the land.”
Commentary
Today’s chapter in proverbs focuses mainly on the strong
character of a virtuous wife. I would like to focus our attention on the verse
concerning her husband in the midst of a long list of her qualities. Today’s “gold nugget” says, “Her husband is known in the gates, when he
sits among the elders of the land.” Why would I want to bring attention to
what her husband’s status was in the land? The reason isn’t because of how
great her husband is. I don’t believe that is the agenda of the writer. I
believe the point the writer is making is the reason her husband was a pillar
in the community. I believe the reason the writer threw in this mention of the
husband in the midst of a great list of her qualities is because of how the
husband benefited from such an amazing wife. She was so diligent in all of her
business that she not only made him look good, she freed him of all cares that
would distract him from tending to the business he was called to. They both had
business to attend to and one was not greater than the other. Are the legs of
the table any less or greater than the table surface? Which is the man, the
legs or the table? Both are vital and I will not try and choose which one is
which. I will simply say that we all have opportunities to enable or disable
others. We may be in the spotlight or in the shadows, but unless we are
concerned with receiving glory, it doesn’t matter which one we serve in. We
just need to be the enablers for good things in each other. Sometime we need to
know that what we do makes a way or blocks the way for others. This is not a
gender thing, this is a godly thing. We can and should be the wind beneath each
other’s wings. It takes more character to hold open a door for someone than it
takes to walk through a door being held open for you. This role of making away
for others to be successful is not a growing trait in our society, but it is
one that reflects the heart of God. In a day of self promoting, we don’t
promote one another through our own efforts enough. We should be as John the
Baptist was. Despite his great popularity, when Jesus came along, he humbled
himself, made a way for Jesus and proclaimed that he must decrease while Jesus
increased.
Prayer
Lord, help us to
see opportunities where we can make away for others to prosper through our
efforts. Help us to have a spirit of decreasing for the increasing of others
and more importantly, decreasing for you. Amen
If you are reading
this devotional in an e-mail and would like to post a comment, click on this
link http://proverbfortoday.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment