CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN 8

Character #8

The 8th characteristic of the virtuous woman is that she is HARDWORKING.

HA…AAAARDWORK

What I mean by hardworking is that the virtuous woman has taken full responsibility of all the duties expected of her, and she’s committed to ensuring that productive results are achieved. To the extent that even when her day had been so rough and tiring, she is quick to folds up her sleeves as soon as she gets home to diligently attend to all her duties as a wife and a mother.

That is when she girds herself up with strength and strengthens her arms (Proverbs 31:17); to get the supper ready,  bath the kids and wash the dishes. Any help on her way to delivering her duties is embraced, but not requested by her.

And let’s not confuse a hardworking woman with a busibody. There is a clear cut difference between the two. The Hard-worker gets the job done without complaint whereas the Busybody appears to be very busy working something but nothing really gets done by her. So it’s a Saturday and Mrs. Busybody brings out the clothes to do laundry, she seem to be scrubbing the bathroom too as well as attending to the flowers in the garden, she promised to deliver a parcel too at a friend’s party. By the time the day is over she ends up getting nothing done.

Laziness is non-existent in the dictionary of the virtuous woman. Never! She does not come up with flimsy excuses  as to why there’s delays in delivering her responsibilities. You cannot be lazy if you have chosen this road of curiousness with me. Let the young man who is choosing a wife be wise and not overlook hard work.

If you are a woman, especially from the part of this continent that I am from (Ghana), then permit me to remind you that cooking is your duty as well as laundry, washing dishes, tidying up the house, bathing the kids and getting them ready for school, some errands, etc. The earlier you gird up your loins the better. 

Come to think of it, what relief it will be if your husband and children take responsibility for some of these chores. On behalf of the virtuous wives, I humbly plead with their faithful husbands to try and help out with house chores. 

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

1 Chronicles 28:20

“David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.”

Each and everyone has a purpose to accomplish on this earth, and once that purpose has been revealed unto you, be strong and courageous in accomplishing it. The word of this week is, “Do not be scared of anything or habour fear for anyone or thing because, the Lord who has called you to this work will never forsake you as you do His work.”

Challenges and discouragements will definitely come, but rest assured that God will be with you throughout. He is in front of you, behind you, and by your sides all through the journey all day all night. Just recognize His voice and heed Him. 1 Chronicles 28:9 tells, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”

Just in case you are unaware: the reward of working for the Lord is so handsome and generational. Your children’s children’s children’s children, and on and on and on, will reap the fruits of your service to the Lord.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN 7

Character #7

The 7th character of a virtuous woman is her business-mindedness and her mastery over money. 

BUSINESS MINDEDNESS

Yes every virtuous woman is well vest in the basic principles of business and wealth creation. Whether it be savings, investments, leverage, asset acquisition and/or setting up enterprises, the virtuous woman knows at least the basics. Proverbs 31:16 says she carefully considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.

No virtuous woman is controlled by money or it’s demands.  “Mmaa ani ne sika”. This is an Akan adage literally translated as “women eyes and money”. It means women love money. I want to announce to you that when it comes to money, the virtuous woman is on another level. The virtuous woman is not overtaken by the demands of money like most women, instead, she controls the “sword of money” with much skill.

My dear virtuous lady, you ought to understand money, how it operates and how you can manipulate it to your advantage and that of your family as a whole. It’s not enough to know, get to work now!

TO DO OR NOT TO DO?

BED NOW AND WED LATER? NO!

“We have been together for quite a while as bf and gf. You know deep down that you are the one am planning to marry. But, I don’t know if I am the one on your marriage mind, unless you prove it. Sweetheart, come to my bed now, and as you already know marriage bells will toll later.”

“I don’t believe much of what you said, but I think it’s reasonable. As a proof of my love, I will do as you’ve requested. You have shown your love by spending, not only your money, but time and energy on me.”

What is love without waiting (patience)?

Do not be deceived to believe that offering yourself to him/her for sex proves your love for her/him. What you would be doing by indulging in premarital sex is actually trading your hard earned value (virginity) to a five minute fun for nothing at all.

Bedding now with the intention of wedding later does nothing than put the success of your relationship into the physical and mental realm of impossibility, because there would be nothing to anticipate any more. Rest assured that once the package is opened you are bound to take a bite of it with the least provocation (temptation), especially on a day like today -Valentine’s day.

Life isn’t a rush, and so is love. The one that truly loves waits irrespective of the circumstances. To bed now and wed later is that one mistake that puts the success of relationships in jeopardy. A Life of Valued Endurance (LOVE) isn’t tested on any bed – king-size, queen-size, student size, cradle, whatsoever.
It is however tested on these three things: CARE, KINDNESS, and PATIENCE.

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CARE manifests itself in how gentle your needs, as well as that of others are attended to. Care has a lot to do with heartfelt gentleness; gentleness that comes natural, not one that is faked. Be warned, CARE isn’t CARESS, SMOOCH, KISS, or SEX. It is sensitivity to human needs and expression of a feeling of great concern as defined by the dictionary.

KINDNESS and Giving walk hand in hand. Love seeks to liberate through the hands of kindness. And it is an act of kind or charitable behavior. True love manifests itself in the dedication of a person’s energy, time, gifts, talents, etc to the well-being of another person. Kindness is a subset of LOVE: there isn’t LOVE without kindness. Not all kindness leads to the altar, some are just a show of good friendship, be mindful.

PATIENCE. And finally, as they say, LOVE suffers long. To wait and have in focus the beautiful reward of waiting. The encouragement to wed before bed is woven in the fabric of this virtue of LOVE. His being able to wait proves his love, likewise you. Being able to tolerate delay is Patience defined in simple terms. The bedding will definitely happen, but not until the wedding.

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All these three traits (expatriated above) come together to form sacrifice, and that is why a lot of people define love as sacrifice. Paraphrasing Ephesians 5:26, we understand that because Christ Jesus loved the church He gave Himself up for it, and so couples must replicate this kind of love.

When someone loves you truly; He is able to do whatever it takes to make you okay (CARE), he is able to give whatever it takes to set you free (KINDNESS), he is able to wait however long it takes to make you happy (PATIENCE).

If he/she refuses to see your love proven on these things, then she/he qualifies herself/herself for the exit. Do not wait a sec LONGER, pack him bag and baggage out!

Look for the above defined traits of LOVE and save yourself the pressure of bedding now and wedding later.

WED NOW AND BED LATER? YES!!!!

CHARACTERISTICS OF A VIRTUOUS WOMAN 6

Character #6

In the book of Esther, the Bible gives an account of how Queen Esther arose in the night and provided the “food of freedom” for her people, the Jews. Similarly a virtuous woman rises while it is yet night to provide food for her household  (Proverbs 31:15).

Obviously, am not referring to food meant for the stomach neither am I referring to the time of day. The night hour includes sicknesses, failures, deaths, calamities, unfaithfulness, disobedient children, etc.

Now when these nights engulf a home,  the virtuous woman rises above all odds as a WARRIOR and engages in constant, persistent, effectual, overcoming prayers. She comes out of the prayer room with solutions to every problem. 

The 6th characteristics of a virtuous woman is that she is PRAYERFUL. She overcomes every dark hour by seeking divine solutions in prayer.

On a very lighter note, men need good food. Do your best my lady to cook delicious meal for the family.

​BE SEXUALLY PURE

The kingdom of Christ and God is the eternal dwelling place of the believer. And so as you carry yourself about as a believer, my dear, do not allow the perishable desires of your flesh lead you to sin and consequently deprive you of your place in the kingdom of God. It is not only a sin against God, but your body too, when you indulge in sexual sin. 
When you sin against your body, you’d pay dearly on this earth; whereas, your sin against God will deny you your dwelling in the kingdom of God and eternal life. Do not forget that the sins committed against God might be forgiven, but when you sin against your body you will live with its bitter punishment for the rest of your life. Contract STD or the others from your sexual escapades and see how your life will be like. So brothers and sisters, be sexually pure.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:3-4, “It is improper for God’s Holy people to be sexually impure, or greedy. There must not even be a hint of it amongst you. Moreover, there should not be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Give thanks!

CHARACTERISTICS OF A VIRTUOUS WOMAN 5

CHARACTER #5

In character #4 we considered the eagerness of the virtuous woman to go every godly extent in search of what makes a great home, incorporate it into her life, and then make it reflect in the lives of her household. But what about the things that lie beyond her reach?

With HUMILITY, they are at arm-length.

One adorable character of every virtuous woman is HUMILITY. Due to her humble nature, the Virtuous Woman acknowledges her limitations and shortcomings as far as building a great home is concerned. Then she allows God to take over. Light and life, for instance, are key in making a home great. But these “building materials” can only come from God. Notwithstanding this truth, she acts as a channel through which God’s blessings flow to her family, friends, neighbours and all.

A window is not the source of light; the sun is. However, until the window is opened, light and air cannot enter a room. Likewise, the merchant ship is not really needed by men, it is rather the food inside the merchants ship (Proverbs 31:14).

The fifth character of the virtuous woman is HUMILITY.  By humility she truly accepts her wrongdoings, and appreciates the contributions of others, even when she least believes in them.

Remember, ladies with the aim to uphold this character (#5) of the Virtuous Woman: Pride goes before a fall.