Part II
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies… She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:10,14
I have heard many sermons preached about the Proverbs 31 Wife, or Wife of Noble Character over the years. There are numerous blogs and even entire ministries built around this particular passage of scripture. These messages generally focus on the woman’s character and duties as a wife and mother; I don’t want to diminish that focus in any way. It is both valid and important.
However, there is a major aspect of the Proverbs 31 Woman that is widely glossed over, and even totally ignored. This relates to her business acumen and the way she manages her finances. Here are the facts. Of the twenty-two verses in the passage, seven are comments for the reader’s benefit or general praise from her husband and children (E.g. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her – vs28). While these are interesting, they don’t actively describe her character. The remaining fifteen verses focus explicitly on her character and actions.
Of the fifteen verses that actively describe her character and actions, only two actually focus on how she acts toward her husband. Another three focus on how she cares for her children and household….
And no less than six verses focus on how she conducts her financial life. How can we, in good conscience, read this passage about the ‘Ideal Godly Woman’ and simply disregard 40% of what the Bible tells us about her!
Like the Merchant Ships
So with that in mind, let’s look at verse 14…
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:14
This verse offers insight into how the Proverbs 31 Woman trades and acquires the materials she needs for both her household and her business interests. It could refer to the wool and flax purchases described in the previous verse. However, this verse alludes to her wider trading activities, including food purchases, that expand beyond those transactions alone.
What this verse is really saying is that she actively seeks opportunities to buy cheaply and get more value for her money. While the verse does not explicitly state this, the Bible commentaries agree that this is what the verse is driving at. She seeks better trade prices by travelling further afield, and hunting for bargains that many of her contemporaries will miss because they favor convenience and buy closer to home. In business terms, she expands her operations beyond her immediate neighborhood.
Using the merchant ships as a simile, this verse aims to demonstrate how she applies the principles of profitable exchange and international trade, in the narrower sphere of her personal economy. In fact, the verse does not liken her to a single merchant ship but, rather, a whole fleet of merchant ships! You might even call this lady a force of nature.
She goes the extra mile — both figuratively and literally — to reduce costs when buying food or materials for her household and her business. In this, she displays her shrewd business acumen.
In a modern context, this is the type of lady who spots an item she really likes or needs in the local mall but, instead of buying it there and then, she first checks on both Amazon and eBay to see if she can get it at a better price. Or when she looks for flights and holiday accommodation, she may first use the big brand booking engines. However, when she spots suitable flight tickets or accommodation she first picks up the phone and calls the supplier directly to see if they offer a better price than the one they advertise through online channels.
I am reminded of the landlord at a hotel I ran a few years back. He had run his own business for many years and then he and his wife had built up a large property investment portfolio. This retired couple had a vested interest in my success as they liked me as a tenant. They were tough but highly ethical business people and it was a pleasure to do business with them. However, he would call me regularly, and at random times, to let me know that a local supermarket was running a special on certain items that were selling at lower prices than the wholesalers who were my usual suppliers.
This couple are fabulously wealthy but they cannot resist a bargain, and they have a knack of finding them. When I needed to replace equipment at the hotel, if I found a replacement item for $499, you could almost guarantee that they would find the same, or a similar, item for $299. I am a pretty tech-savvy person and I know for a fact that my landlord and his wife are not, having helped them many a time to get their email sorted. However, this is one area in which I could not compete. They know how to find bargain prices on the internet that leave me shaking my head in admiration and disbelief.
One thing I noted about this couple; despite their massive wealth, they always paid attention to the small stuff. If they could save ten percent on a five dollar purchase, they took it. Initially, it astounded me that a couple with this much money could care so much about a one or two dollar saving. Then it occurred to me that, just maybe, they became wealthy because they cared so deeply about each one or two dollar saving. It wasn’t that they cared about the individual transaction. It was a lifestyle for them. It was the position from which they approached every purchase they made. They were frugal, and careful, with each and every transaction. And because they were able to keep their costs low in every sphere of life, they had, in turn, made both their business and household profitable.
Their attention to detail was also significant. If we were in a conversation and needed to refer to correspondence or an invoice from several months earlier, they would pop off to their home-office and arrive back after a few minutes with the document in hand.
I feel it is important to point this out. They never cheated anyone. Nor did they ever attempt to profit at another person’s expense. They simply ensured that they never paid ten dollars for an item if they could get it elsewhere at nine. What they saved in money usually cost them in time, effort and convenience — but for them the saving was always worth the pain.
So it is with the Proverbs 31 Woman. She is frugal and wise when it comes to her spending — and she never overpays. This is not something she switches on for the big transactions. Rather, it is a lifestyle, born of a habit that she has formed over time. As such, she lives out this value in every transaction. Strangely, it is this character trait for which the Bible commends her.
Admittedly, sniffing out Bargain-Basement prices is not a character trait that we generally aspire to in our Christian walk. We prefer to focus on faith, love and holiness. Nothing wrong with that. But Proverbs 31:14 is just as much a part of the Bible.
I’m sure we all want this verse to be more spiritual, or to offer some deep, eternal meaning but this is what it says; she is a smart entrepreneur who works hard to reduce her business and household costs. And the Bible applauds her for it! Should we ignore, or write off, this verse just because it does not deal with one of Christianity’s central themes? There is still wisdom to be gleaned from verses like this and we would do well to follow the Proverbs 31 Woman’s example in our own business dealings, or when managing our household budgets, in the modern economy.
Just saying…