Words of wisdom

A working woman

Something to read

A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.
Proverbs 31:10-12,15-17 (NRSV)

Something to think about

Am I alone in finding the last chapter of Proverbs hard to read? It seems to echo the media demand for every female to be Superwoman - to have a shining career, a stylish home and perfect children. To cook like Delia Smith, but be as thin as Kate Moss. To be endlessly creative in bed, to give hours of service to the community (church for instance), to clean the gutters so as not to stereotype men, and still to be up to date with the music that's playing in the clubs at 3am.

We live in a world of contrasts. Women make up one third of the world's work force. But they earn roughly one tenth of the world's wages. They are entitled to about one hundredth of the world's rights. Of the people who live in absolute poverty (earning less than seventy pence a day) over seventy per cent are women. That's twelve hundred million.

But Proverbs is not an instruction book for women. It's a poem! The reason the qualities mount up is that the poet thinks of one for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet. An A-Z of thank yous by a man to the world's women. As Christian women and men let us work for the day when equality of the genders is a reality. Until then, 'thank you' is not a bad start.

Something to do

To which women do you owe a debt of gratitude - as a relative, a friend, a wife? Send an e-mail, write a letter or make a phone call which subtly lets them know.

Something to pray

There are countless women in the developing world to whom you also owe a debt. Thank God for the lifestyle which you lead, and pray for the anonymous millions (every one known to God) whose underpaid work allows you to live as you do.