Would you like to be a Virtuous Woman? I would. I am not even sure what it means to be a Virtuous Woman. Having Virtue sounds like a good thing to have. I know how to be a Crabby Woman and I have lots of practice being a Messy Woman.
The on-line Oxford Dictionary says that virtue is behavior showing high moral standards. Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, a Roman Christian Poet talks about the seven heavenly virtues in his poem Psychomachina, Battle For Man’s Soul. King Solomon talks about virtue in the Bible in Proverbs.
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9 – King Solomon
I would like to walk with integrity. I would like to have sound moral principles and not make crooked paths. Right now I am fairly skilled at being crabby and messy.
How to be a Crabby Woman
- Never forgive.
- Hold grudges, and be bitter about it too.
- Think mean thoughts.
- Talk harshly.
- Never smile, not even at a funny joke.
- Point out the faults of others.
- Complain and whine all the time.
- Never say thank-you.
How to be a Messy Woman
- Never put anything away.
- Don’t clean up right after you cook, let the pots sit on the counter until the end of the week.
- Vacuum only if you know company is coming.
- Let the dog clean up the food you dropped.
- Sweep the kitchen floor when the spilled rice starts to sprout.
- Leave the clean laundry in the hamper, don’t fold it and put it away.
- Eat your supper out of the pot.
- Never brush your dog so it sheds everywhere in the house.
- Grow radishes in the dust on the window ledge.
How to be a Virtuous Woman
I know I need to have integrity to be a Virtuous Woman. Amy Rees Anderson in an article in Forbes, Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity is Forever, said, “Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching.”
King Lemuel talks about The Wife of Noble Character in Proverbs 31 in the Bible. She gets up while it still dark, cooks and makes garments she sells. She is respected by her husband.
The woman in Proverbs 31 isn’t sitting reading her bible in the morning and letting her children go hungry. The woman in Proverbs 31 isn’t throwing a microwaved meal at her husband and children while she runs off to a committee meeting at night.
The woman in Proverbs 31 takes care of her family .
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:27-30
Well, it looks like I have to work harder. It is time to get the roast out of the freezer and fold the laundry. And where did Martha our dog go? She needs to be brushed. It appears I have been eating the bread of idleness. Today I will eat a different kind of bread. After I pray for wisdom, that is.
Do you know how to be a virtuous woman? What bread did you eat today?
Please let me know in the comments. I could use some help.
