“She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.” (Prov.31:18)
Is there such a thing as acquiring the right skills for a godly woman, wife, and or mother? If so, what are the right kinds of skills to acquire?
Is Proverbs 31 even relevant in our time and generation, concerning acquiring skills?
The Proverbs 31 woman was a highly gifted entrepreneur. Her capabilities and exploits as it were, continue to intimidate many a woman to date.
So, how does this woman do all that she does, in a way that her profitability is sustained, day in and day out? How come her lamp does not go out at night?
With the business acumen the Proverbs 31 woman had, the things she did with her hands as well as how she handled her household, we can tell this woman had multiple skills she had acquired to enable her to accomplish all she had to do more efficiently.
Skill is the expertise I will acquire to accomplish my God-given assignment or task more fruitfully.
The first set of skills I want to tell you about are in the words of God to Moses:
“What is that in your hand?” (Gen.4:2)
- Skills Already Acquired as Part of your Formal Education
Most if not all who are reading this post have had some form of formal learning. Some have gone all the way and completed college. Others have their Masters’s or Doctorate degrees.
You could be a nurse or a doctor for instance. By this fact, you know what medication is all about. You know how to care for a patient. You know what to do in case of an emergency.
Or you could be a nutritionist. You know about foods and the right nutrients we should take, and what foods contain them.
some of what you and I learned through formal education might be invaluable skills that could come in handy later in life.
Especially in an era in our country where formal employment is becoming less and less easy to come by, God might be asking: What is that in your hand?
I know women who are working from home using what they learned in college to make a living.
I did some baking commercially because I took Home Science as a subject in High School. That foundation was what God used to start me on that journey of exploring that skill.
Might God want you to offer consultancy services in an area of expertise? Or to use your marketing skill to grow your home-based business?
I could be sitting on my skill; something God might use, and I’m thinking, I have no skill, yet I might have a skill or two because I went to school.
- Skills you Acquire to Enhance your Divine Endowment/ Spiritual Gift
Gifts are divine endowments, given to us by God, to accomplish a particular God-assigned task or assignment.
I could be gifted as a teacher for example. God divinely enables me to teach his Word, rightly dividing it in a way that my listeners come away edified and blessed.
I could be gifted with the gift of service, where I derive great delight in setting up systems to enhance service to God’s people; could be in hospitality, ushering, and ensuring everyone is comfortable and taken care of in a given context.
The Bible calls these spiritual gifts. An ardent student of the Word knows there are several gifts, in their various categories, recorded in the Scriptures, necessary for ministry in the body of Christ and in reaching the lost with the gospel. That’s however beyond the scope of today’s topic.
The set of skills we are referring to here works very well when a woman has been able to identify her spiritual gift from the Lord. She will then go ahead and acquire a relevant skill so she can be more effective as she operates in the gift.
A woman with the gift of mercy might consider going to be trained in Biblical counseling to help others more effectively. A teacher might go to Bible school to get equipped to teach the Word more effectively.
These and many other examples can help you determine what skill to acquire to enhance your service and ministry to your household and others.
I for one am grateful for an internship program earlier in my life in a Christian ministry. I got equipped with several Bible-related skills that have been very useful in my interpretation of Scripture.
This skill has come in handy, again and again, in the ministry I do to younger women to which God has called me.
- Skills you Acquire to Enhance your Natural Endowment
Talents, just like gifts, are God-given too. These are natural endowments one is born with that might represent a skill in themselves.
They will often work hand in hand with a spiritual gift God has given me to accomplish his purposes more fruitfully, at least for the Christian woman.
I think of the naturally born orator, with a natural endowment to draw people in and a knack for words.
When God grants such a person the gift of teaching, the natural ability and the gift work in such a way to make this person an excellent communicator.
Others are naturally endowed with swiftness in running. We have witnessed over and over again how such a talent has not only made some of us squeal with excitement as they win medals, this talent has provided a source of income for many of these.
Knowing what you are naturally good at, or your talent, helps you seek to acquire skills that would accentuate that.
I think of one who is endowed with a voice that can sing beautifully. Enhancing your skills in voice training as well as learning an instrument or two can be very helpful.
What of a teacher or an orator taking a Writing course so they can not only communicate with spoken words but written as well?
I have recently immersed myself in learning web design so I can continue providing a beautiful “home” for the content I post online. A place where others feel comfortable and at home.
It’s hard work just to learn this skill. I however realized it’s a valuable skill going into the future.
Some of us are naturally endowed with a knack for detail and working with our hands.
I know women who will design lovely clothing items. Others will create beautiful pottery.
I know women who are crushing it with beautiful template designs, cards, and the like.
Acquiring skills that will enhance this can take your capabilities in that endowment to a whole new level as you learn from one who is a few steps ahead of you.
Some of this could be in the form of hobbies we’re already enjoying that could easily be turned into a form of income.
What is your talent? What are you naturally endowed with? What skill would you learn to make you even better at what you naturally enjoy doing?
Perhaps it’s time to get on and enroll in that course you’ve been thinking about so you can be equipped to do even better with what you love to do.
- Skills you Acquire to Bring Order to your Life and Home
We all long for a more ordered home and life. We long to provide a conducive environment around us to help us be more productive and creative.
There are skills that we acquire that help us do just that.
As I say this, I’m grateful for YouTube and Google “University.”
These learning platforms, and others, have contributed to much of what I have learned and I’m still learning, mostly free of charge!
Some of us have learned how to sew, others how to cook, and still others how to decorate a home and many other skills.
I was surprised to learn that some of the YouTube connoisseurs on home décor never saw the inside of a Décor classroom. They are self-taught experts who had a passion and an eye for beauty around them.
Books upon books have been written to help us bring order to our lives and homes as men and women have developed systems that work.
These then translate to skills and information they are sharing with others.
My routines for instance have been learned as I have listened to others share their lives and what works for them. I have found some of the information I needed in books.
The need to learn new skills presupposes that you and I must be lifelong learners as women.
To live the Proverbs 31 lifestyle means to keep learning new ways of doing things effectively.
This learning will often present itself in the need to acquire a new skill at a particular point in my life.
I may therefore not tell you exactly what skill to learn. As you go through life, desiring to be more fruitful as well as profitable, and as you deliberate on your context, you will be able to figure out which skill to learn in that season of your life.
The Proverbs 31 woman sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
God has used a lot of these skills that women strategically acquire, to help many of these women monetize and earn something out of their skill, just like the Proverbs 31 woman.
Mothers are opting to stay at home with their children because of some of the monetization strategies that have enabled them to acquire this lifestyle.
Some are earning an extra income as a result of these skills.
I happen to be one of those women who has monetized one of the skills I acquired online.
Because one of my goals has been to work from home, this monetization strategy is helping me make this goal a reality in my life.
What skill are you thinking of acquiring as a woman, wife, and, or, mother?
Prayerfully reflect on where you are at, your gifts as well as your natural endowments.
Thankfully, a lot of relevant skills can now be acquired, at least in part, (to start you going) so you can be fruitful, as well as profitable, as a woman, wife, and mom.