How We Do It

Proverbs‬ 31:10‬‬‬‬ (NIV)‬‬

A (person) of noble character who can find? They are worth far more than rubies.

Today let's think about the woman described in Proverbs 31 (v10-31) It’s not uncommon to hear about her as a woman and a wife, but today let’s focus on her as a business-person. ‬‬‬‬

So often in business and life, success is measured by what is produced whether that’s sales, profit, turnover, targets, bigger house, more money…the list could go on. Now it’s pretty easy to think that this person in Proverbs is winning at life…she is married, she is smashing it at work, gets up early and can work late, is totally on top of her household, so much so they are all sorted for next winter, she saves money, invests and gives to the poor. She has children that respect her and bless her and most importantly is a godly woman. Woah - that is impressive! How many of us are weary with trying really hard to achieve success in all these areas at the same time? 

But actually here we see that what the woman produces is less important than how she does it. The focus of this chapter is her character. There’s no doubt that what she produces is high quality and deserves respect, but what is key is that the woman is skilled, diligent, generous and well prepared. 

Perhaps this week we need to have a mindset change. As we run our businesses, go about our work, run our households, rather than just focusing on what needs to be done, consider instead focusing on how we do it…with dignity and strength, integrity and wisdom, with a smile and peace for tomorrow.

What better way to show the DNA of Jesus in our business, our ‘day job’, our day-to-day life than by demonstrating the characteristics of the business-woman in this chapter. 

Prayer — Father God, please help us today to focus on our character rather than purely what we achieve. May we be more like the Proverbs 31 woman.