I’ve been thinking about this on and off all week. I ran across some different blogs as I was looking at different “frugal” sites. One of them was a post a lady wrote about another woman who somehow managed to get all of her families grocery needs for only $300 a year. They had a garden, milk cow etc. and the article talked about the great money manager that this woman was. Then I got to the comments section and was surprised when MANY of the comments were about this woman really exlempifying the Proverbs 31 woman. I’ve been in fundamentalist church circles all my life, so am no stranger to the emphasis put on being this virtuous woman. However, my “take” on it has always been totally different. I always thought the main thrust of the passage was the “virtues” of the woman. “Her price is far above rubies” and “The hear of her husband doeth safely trust in her” and “in her tongue is the law of kindness.” These were the HEART things that I always thought belonged to the virtuous woman. I of course read all the parts about her working with her hands, and caring for her household and giving to the poor, but in my mind the economy of what she did was more of a fruit of her character. She was diligent, not slothful, she provided for the needs of her family without wasting because she was trustworthy and responsible, she gave to the poor because she was compassionate. These are the things that I’ve always thought about the “Proverbs 31” woman. Then in reading this blog, I realized that apparently many people are “interpreting” this passage more on economic ideas. Those women who left comments about this amazing lady who could make a little go a LONG way, had no idea of the woman’s real character. They don’t know if she was a bitter person, or one who loved to gossip, or someone who was a busybody. The only thing they knew was that she was EXCELLENT at saving money. I agree that it is commendable to be frugal and not wasteful in your family’s expenses. In fact I believe that it is a Biblical principle that we should follow, being good stewards. However, I don’t think that the virtuos woman’s merrit is strictly or even mostly in her economic ability. It’s really in her character and practice where the virtue is, and that, of course, will be evident in those other areas as well. What are your thoughts? Do you think the passage in Proverbs 31 is dealing with a character study or economics?