Trustworthy

Trustworthy

The Ideal Woman

Read: Proverbs 31:11-12

Mercedes tapped her pencil against the notepad. Hmm, what story can I use this time? She didn’t enjoy lying to her husband—there were just some things he was better off not knowing, such as the cost of her new outfit. By pretending that the washer repair cost twice as much as it did, she’d managed to keep peace in the house. “Gone to watch Betty’s kids while she’s at her night class.” If Antonio knew she was out with her old high-school friend, he would overreact the way he did about everything. It wasn’t that anything was going on between her and Alan, but still . . . it was better to keep Antonio in the dark.

The ideal woman described in Proverbs 31 is more trustworthy than Mercedes. Her husband knows that he can rely on her to handle the family finances without overspending or wasting money. She makes the most of their resources while making the family’s well-being her first priority, rather than selfish interests of her own. She never gives her husband a reason to be suspicious of her behavior. He has complete confidence in how she conducts herself in every situation. Because of her faithful and honorable lifestyle, he knows that his heart and his life are safe in her hands. The ideal woman brings good, not harm, into her husband’s life.

Do our family members, friends, and neighbors see us as a source of good in their lives? Can they depend on us to be honest and sincere and to always do what’s best for them? Or are we focused on our own desires and looking for ways to hide our ulterior motives from those we secretly wrong by our behavior? If we want to please God, we will always keep our lifestyle worthy of trust—his and others. That’s the ideal way to live.

The trustworthy person will get a rich reward.

Proverbs 28:20