{The Diamond Movement} Day 9!

Written By: Hannah Coleman

The message quotes Proverbs 31:10 as, “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above diamonds”.  If we look at the King James Version of the bible we read,  “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies”.

Writing this was no easy task.  How do you assign worth?  How can we measure our own worth?  How can we measure the worth of another?  I read this verse and my first thought is to look through the eyes of the world.  We see a woman who is on the Parents Council at school.  She raises her own angora rabbits, grooming them daily to spin yarn for her daughters to knit hats and scarves to sell.  She takes her youngest son to Cubs and her oldest son to hockey, and it’s the travel team.  She makes Christmas crafts, cuts her kids sandwiches into animal shapes and makes rainbow spaghetti, all worthy of pinning and blogging about.  She heads up the Kitchen Committee at church, bringing meals to community members who have a new baby, have had a loss or are just going through challenges.  She’s on the worship team, as are her children.  She volunteers in the nursery at church, and billets and houses out of town guests.  She has started a pillowslip project to send little dresses to small girls in Ethiopia.  She does and she gives.  She is highly praised among the couples at the Tuesday night Life Group that she hosts.  She is phenomenal and she has so much to give to the Body and to the Kingdom.  But does this sum up her worth?

What is God’s desire for our lives and how does the worth that we seek fit into that framework?  Our purpose, without question, should be to live a life that honors and glorifies our Lord and God, and to do it joyfully, for His great pleasure.  Is this inventory of attributes alone going to honor and glorify God?  Admittedly, I know an awful lot of Martha Stewart wanna-be’s who would give you the shirt off their backs but would do it out of pride or for their own glory.  By today’s definition of worth though, this is the kind of woman and these are the things that we see that make us say, “Wow, she is a woman of worth!”.  But is she?  Is this list of specifications what makes her worthy?  It certainly does add to her worth but what does God value?

What if I don’t marry?  What if I don’t have children, own land or run a business?  Am I worth less if I follow God onto the mission field to become a nurse but remain single and childless?  How do I squelch my spiritual pride if I do live an A type life or in turn, the sense of desolation if I live a life as a single woman, with 6 cats and a job at XYZ Corp?

I feel as though we get so caught up in the list of Pinnable, pride-pumping attributes that we lose sight of the lower half of Proverbs 31.  In verses 25 and 26 (KJV) we read,

25 Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

And of course we read in verse 30,

30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feared the Lord, she shall be praised.

This, I believe, is the key.  I can be woman A, with my whole life labeled and in pretty baskets or woman B, with my boho wardrobe, my guitar and my job as a lifeguard.  The attribute of either that merits me worth more than diamonds is entirely about my attitude.  Is woman A filled with pride, boasting about her husbands new position as Elder while complaining he’s away too much because of it then blogging about fasting in prayer over it?  Is woman B filled with pride about “going solo” and living a meager life, not squandering God’s blessings.  Or, is woman A humbled before the Lord, always giving thanks and honoring God with her hands and her heart and her words. Recognizing He is her rock and her salvation and the foundation of all good things that she has in her life.

Is woman recognizing that God is faithful to fulfill all of His promises and she will never be without what she truly needs and His blessings are in all things and beyond measure, even in every breath that she takes.  Do these women, and do I, fear the Lord and have an attitude of joy, humility, kindness, and Godly wisdom that flow freely from my spirit, all of which is purposed for honoring and glorifying my Lord.  If the latter is the case than this is what I believe God means when He says she is worth more than diamonds.

About Hannah Coleman:

Hannah is eighteen years old and the oldest of four sibling and many foster siblings. She has a passion of playing guitar and for reading and writing fiction. She’s a certified lifeguard working for the City of Windsor, John McGivney Centre and Goodlife Fitness. For the past three years she’s enjoyed volunteering as a Jr leader and is eager to see what God has in store for her future.