As a reminder, this is all part of my journey and development as a writer. I never claimed I would be perfectly organized, so bear with me, please.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Because this is near the end of the passage, I feel that Lemuel's mother is trying to sum up these lessons for her son. She's going back into what she initially said,
3 Do not spend your strength[a] on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
When I think of a woman obsessed with her beauty, or eloquently charming, I see a very selfish person.
Selfish people can be really draining. Everything they talk about requires you putting your full attention on them. They ask your advice, but then throw it out the window when it doesn't suit them. Imagine a young ruler falling in love with a woman like that. It would be completely destructive, not only to his life, but to the entire kingdom he was in charge of.
When we get around selfish people, we start acting that way, too. It starts off wanting to fit in or relate to them, but soon it turns into a survival tactic. "If I'm not receiving love from this person, I'm going to have to love myself." Pretty soon, it's an explosive environment. Anything you say or do, can and will be used against you. How can you possibly have the best interest of someone else in mind, while living in that emotional place?
The Kings of our households deserve to govern with wisdom and compassion. There are children that need loving instruction. There are finances that need to be handled with integrity. There are tasks outside of the home that he needs to have the confidence to execute.
We have to stop trying to persuade our husbands with our beauty and our words. It only works for a season and then things come crashing down.
"A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Another word for "fear" is "revere."
"A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Another word for "fear" is "revere."
Reverence can be an outward expression of our respect.
Why are these two thoughts coupled together, here? I think she is trying to say, "don't be a woman that tries to change her husband by manipulating him with charm, or by seducing him with your beauty. Be a woman that has reverence for God's position in his life." We seriously overstep boundaries when we try to do God's job. It is the thing that has wounded the church for so many years; When we set rules and standards, and impress them upon people, without letting the Spirit convict. We, as wives, have a responsibility to step back and trust God to work things out in these men.
He is exceedingly capable and will do it. If you have a hard time believing that, check this out:
So bite your tongue and take it up with God. Pray for your Husband. And listen to God, because I cannot count how many times I take an issue I'm having with another person (not just Allen, but yes, sometimes) and He will immediately show me something that I am doing to add fuel to the fire. A lot of times He will tell me I have it completely wrong all-together.
Building our Kingdom, not tearing it down-
Lindsay
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