Did the Proverbs 31 Woman Work?

Hello and welcome back to the blog!

Today we're talking about the all-time holder of the Mrs. Inspirational title, the Proverbs 31 woman.

We love her, we're a bit intimidated, and, as a sweet mentor once noted, we think she sounds tired, lol. Let's dive in.

Busy gal? Pin this and come back later!

If you're new here, I recently left my position as Director of Instructional Design to be a stay-at-home mom. (But I'm sharing some Director-y tips because sharing is caring. Check them out here!) This has led Pinterest and YouTube to turn my personal feeds into working mom vs SAHM vs tradwife vs feminist explosions. 

Included in that interesting and slightly stressful mix are ideas from thoughtful women about whether or not the Proverbs 31 woman worked. Is it biblical for us, as Christian wives and mothers, to not work? 

I want to start by saying I don't in any way believe this is a salvation issue. I don't think having a job outside of the home, working from home, or not working will keep you out of Heaven. I don't think it makes you any less saved one way or another. I do think a deep dive into Proverbs 31 happens in every ladies' group study, though, so why not here? :)

So many ladies I've had the pleasure to be in study groups with have been upset at the idea of the Proverbs 31 woman. It's too much on our shoulders to expect us to fit in everything she does. We're already struggling to stay above water as it is, and now we're left feeling guilty and less than because someone brought up the excellent wife. 

The thing, though, is I think the Proverbs 31 woman makes perfect sense if she's a homemaker. (This is going to be a Proverbs 31 series, so check out the other deep dives here!)

We ladies who have worked outside of our homes or have done full-time jobs working from home know that the house gets a backseat many a day. If someone is paying us to do a job, we do the job and we want to do it well. Then we come home and there are the basic things needed to get our family from today to tomorrow. Dinner, dishes, laundry, and maybe one extra chore. Maybe. The dusting can always wait another day, though. 

We're tired. We spent just as long out of the house as our husbands, and now we're supposed to Proverbs 31-ify our homes in a few hours. It's not inspirational, it's burdensome.

But imagine the Proverbs 31 woman doesn't work a full-time job. All day long, from her early wakeup to her late bedtime, she's dealing with her home. A large portion of the verses in Proverbs 31 deal with the woman's involvement in her home's economics. 

But what about this?

    18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

    Her lamp does not go out at night.

Or this?

    24 She makes linen garments and sells them;

    she delivers sashes to the merchant.

Great questions, friend. I think the Proverbs 31 woman was productive and interestingly entrepreneurial! 

As a homemaker, your day is your own, and, if you're Proverbs 31-ing it, you're starting it with a bang. Productive from the time your feet hit the floor each morning. Like working wives and mothers, you're getting your chores and cooking done in just a few hours. 

Then what? 

I think if we're truly looking to be Proverbs 31 women, we're not sitting down to rest a bit and scrolling through our phones. We're continuing with the productivity. Homemaking as a Christian isn't a cheater's way out of work, it's a position just as productive as any other. 

I think, even amidst managing servants, educating herself in matters of finance and putting that education to work for her family, being prepper-ish and looking ahead to prepare her family for the expected and the unknown seasons ahead, and doing daily tasks, the Proverbs 31 woman is productive enough to be left with too many garments. 

"What do I do with all my extra garments?" she says. "I bet I could sell these."

And so she does.

If we're doing it right, our homemaking should be spilling out into our communities. We should have the margin in our days to make extra food. Extra trips to the hospital and the nursing home. Extra time spent putting our homemaking skills to use and selling the by-products. 

Proverbs 31 doesn't say our favorite woman left the house to make garments, or had to stop all her other tasks to make garments, or had a made-to-order business. It says she made them, then she sold them. That fits in perfectly with the days that all the kids nap at the same time and you can make 15 sashes and a dress, and it also fits perfectly with the week everyone is sick and you managed to make one measly sunhat.

If the Proverbs 31 woman is a homemaker, selling garments and sashes to merchants fits perfectly in a way that isn't burdensome or exhausting. It's just the productive overflow of a well-managed home-centered life. 

If all of this is true, what does it mean for each of us ladies?

What does it mean for all of my working-momma friends? It means the Proverbs 31 tasks concerning home economics might be exchanged for Proverbs 31 tasks concerning financial management and productivity in business. There may not be room for everything in one 24-hour day. Be gentle with yourself at the next Proverbs 31 study. You're only one person!

What does it mean for my homemaking friends? It means we need to put our thinking caps on! When we treat our days with biblical productivity, what form will that overflow take? And can it take an entrepreneurial route, because the Proverbs 31 woman's sure did! Open an Etsy shop, sell at your local farmer's market, or do helpful tasks for a neighbor willing to pay. Use that big brain of yours and come up with something that brings honor to your husband and glory to God. Very Proverbs 31, no?

Let me know in the comments below what you think of the Proverbs 31 woman!

All the love, 

Emily

Please feel free to contact me at admin@tulipsandbasil.com!