She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26
So first off, I wanted to offer an apology for the extreme lack of advent posts this year. Christmas is certainly a time to refocus on the Lord and his amazing sacrifice for us (and by focusing on the definition of a godly woman, we hopefully are doing just that!), but I wanted to offer up a few of my favorite recent (or not so recent) advent blogs reminding us of God's presence with us, this season and always:
Now back to business. For me, the call for a godly woman to be wise is a bit daunting - I can study and study, but it always seems like there is so much left to learn about the Lord! One of the things I think that is interesting about this verse is that it states she opens her mouth with wisdom. It doesn't say she can break down all the complicated passages in the old testament and that her understanding of prophesies is off the hook. Rather, it states that when she instructs others, her teaching is full of wisdom and kindness. Maybe I'm the only person that falls into this trap, but sometimes, I find it so easy to reaffirm what others want to hear when I am giving them advice or to go with my gut feeling instead of heading to God to make sure I'm giving them some real wisdom. Even if I am saying something "wise," it's so easy for me to do this in an unkind judgmental manner (instead of encouraging the other person as I should). As we are examining how we should teacher others, we should examine the ultimate Counselor (ok - I caved in the common Christmas scripture department):
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:2-6
Wile Christ is described as wonderful counselor, that is only one of His many roles: He illuminates our way, multiples the nation, frees us from oppression, takes the government on His shoulders, and promises to be our Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He goes so much further than merely giving us wise counsel. So I have a couple of questions for us today: Is the counsel we give others actually based on true wisdom? Are we counseling others with a kind, loving, and encouraging heart? And our we modeling Christ by taking our counseling beyond wise words to acts of service and partnership? This is certainly a tall order, and I know in many ways makes me feel inadequate, but I pray that as we're wrestling with this, we remember God's words to Moses:
Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. ~Exodus 4:12
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