Challenge Day Two

So I got up this morning and the internet is down. I thought, well there goes my blog. And I started my day. I got about 10 minutes into my sewing when a small voice reminded me that my internet may indeed be down, but my Bible is not and neither is my software. So, I got out my bible, read Proverbs 31 and sat down at my computer. Later today, after they fix my internet (Lord willing) I will copy this and paste it into my blog. However, I am not going to let a wonky internet connection keep me from meeting this challenge!

I got a comment yesterday that this is all about balance and I agree. But balancing what? We want to be a good wife and a good mommy, we want to be good businesswomen, good teachers, good doctors, good friends. What about focusing more on being godly women than good women? Some of you are going to automatically say, “Well, duh, Loretta. That goes without saying.” But does it? Should it? Should it be automatically assumed that just because we want to be good that means we want to be godly? I think the answer is no. I think that too often we get wrapped up in being “good” and forget to be godly. Being good means getting things done, doing our jobs well, being a good friend or neighbor, it means being good at the things we choose to do. Being godly means being good at the things we must do. It means tempering our words with kindness. “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” (vs 26).  This hits me very hard. For me, opening my mouth with wisdom isn’t always an easy task. And as for my tongue being the law of kindness…well, let’s just say that’s something I need to work on.

As women we like to talk. We like to tell stories. We like to keep each other updated on the latest happenings at home and with family. How often do we cross the line of “keeping the lines of communication open” with straight out and out gossip? Are we opening our mouths with wisdom? Is this what the passage means? Well I looked up the word wisdom in my handy dandy Strong’s. It means…wait for it…wisdom! Yep, that’s it. So then I started thinking, well what’s the opposite of wisdom and I came up with foolishness. Is our conversation filled with foolishness? I don’t mean silliness, I mean foolishness, as in Proverbs 24:9, “the thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.” I don’t know about you but that seems pretty clear to me. So when she opens her mouth with wisdom, that means she opens her mouth without foolishness, which to me concludes that she opens her mouth without sinning. Can we say the same? When we call the girls? When we speak to our children? When we speak to our husbands? When we speak to our coworkers? When we speak to our bosses? When we are on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace, are we speaking wisely? I recently had a discussion with some friends about using abbreviations for cuss words on facebook. That is not speaking wisely. My husband and I recently had a conversation about cleaning up our language around the house. Opening my mouth with wisdom means that my children do not learn words that they shouldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the words we use aren’t actually unacceptable in society or even in church, but they are inappropriate for a small child. I would rather Kylie not know the word “dangit” even if it’s not “bad.”

What about the law of kindness in our tongues? Do we follow that? How do we discipline our children? Is it with love or frustration? I’ll be honest, mine is more often frustration. “I’ve already told you three times!” “Get in your room!” “Go away and find something else to do!” And before you condemn me, think about the last time you spoke to your spouse, your child, your best friend, your boyfriend in frustration. We all do it. We all expect it. But should we?

Maybe that’s what being virtuous is about today. Maybe today, being virtuous is about opening my mouth in wisdom and having the law of kindness in my tongue. What about you? What are you going to do today?