Day 27 of my 31 Days Writing Challenge! Well, since I skipped a day it’s day 26, but 26 days in the book of Sirach…awesome! Yesterday we considered A Good Wife: An Intelligent Wife. Have you given much thought lately to what kind of wife you are? Well, today (actually late tonight) let’s consider A Good Wife: A Modest Wife.
A Good Wife: A Modest Wife
When I read this verse in Sirach 26, I immediately knew there had to be more to the word “modest” than just a woman who wore skirts and turtle necks. So I headed over to my bookmarked Thesaurus to see what some of the synonyms for “modest” are. Here are some of the words that stood out to me: humble, quiet, simple, discreet, nice, temperate.
I’m not too surprised by any of the synonyms are you? I did like seeing humble on the list because recently as I’ve been reading through Sirach, I’ve taken to drawing a box around the word humble. But the word that made me go “Ah-hah!” was “temperate.”
Yesterday, we considered A Good Wife: An Intelligent Wife and one of the words we considered was “rational.” Temperate can mean calm, moderate, controlled…which sounds like a pretty rational wife to me. So again we see, according to the book of Sirach, a wife who is not a slave to her emotions is a blessing to her husband. Why? Because he can count on her.
A husband needs to be able to depend on his wife’s steady and constant support. Woman was created to help the man because he needed help…or God would not have created her and spoke of her as a helpmate. But he does not need some unstable, flighty woman to contend with. (Of course, I am not talking about a true mental issue.) He needs to know if times get tough, she will remain a constant source of support; it’s hard enough for a man to battle the world, he does not need to then come home and battle his wife. This support frees him up to do what must be done.
A modest wife blesses her husband because he does not have to worry about her behaving scandalously in thought, word or deed. He knows she will carry herself in a controlled manner, not clearing the Target one dollar aisle when there’s no money in the account because she’s bored or trying to keep up with her neighbors. He knows he can tell her he has to work the weekend shift and she’s not going to fly off the handle blaming him for all her unhappiness. He knows she is his safe place in a crazy world.
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Barbara says
“He knows she is his safe place in a crazy world.” I love the idea that I can be that for my husband.
Lysha @ Magnolia Mom says
I often think about what kind of wife I’m being, but never really thought about this aspect of it.
Jenny says
I have enjoyed writing this series on being a good wife. Totally preaching to myself!
Jennifer says
I enjoyed this post. It reminds me to be a modest wife in word and deed. Thanks Jenny!
Jenny says
You and me both! This little series has been very eye opening for me.
Kaethe Pittman says
Jenny, I love the attention you are giving to the qualities of a good wife! All too often, Christian examinations of these qualities begin and end with the Proverbs 31 woman, and secular sources either place too much emphasis on being sexy or, worse yet, only examine what a husband should do for his wife! The Sirach woman seems deeper and much more real, yet more attainable. I want to be her when I grow up!
Jenny says
I love how nicely the Proverbs wife and the Sirach wife fit together and compliment each other.