Choose Well

What a marvelous poem. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a-to-z, as it were. It has been scorned by some as portraying a patriarchal view of marriage, which it does. How can it not? But the opening sentence is still a valid question for today. A capable wife, or husband for that matter, who can find?

We spend our youth and young adult years looking for that perfect mate. We date various people until one day, something clicks, and we cement that relationship with a formal ceremony. We are fairly certain we have found the right one, but with divorce rates approaching 40%, the best we can say is that we have a bit better than a 50-50 chance of making it long-term.

Proverbs 31 is an oracle that the queen mother passed to her son. Choose well, might be behind these words. The roles of husband and wife are much more blurred today, much more equal in terms of household and wage-earning roles. Husbands now change diapers, make meals, run the vacuum cleaner. Wives build fences, pay the bills, maybe change the oil. Both work outside the home.

However we envision our roles, the queen mother had it right: choose well. Apt advice to our searching sons and daughters.

God of Love, guide those in search of a life partner, so that they choose well. Amen. — DAB

Contributed by Choose Well

What a marvelous poem. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a-to-z, as it were. It has been scorned by some as portraying a patriarchal view of marriage, which it does. How can it not? But the opening sentence is still a valid question for today. A capable wife, or husband for that matter, who can find? We spend our youth and young adult years looking for that perfect mate. We date various people until one day, something clicks, and we cement that relationship with a formal ceremony. We are fairly certain we have found the right one, but with divorce rates approaching 40%, the best we can say is that we have a bit better than a 50-50 chance of making it long-term. Proverbs 31 is an oracle that the queen mother passed to her son. Choose well, might be behind these words. The roles of husband and wife are much more blurred today, much more equal in terms of household and wage-earning roles. Husbands now change diapers, make meals, run the vacuum cleaner. Wives build fences, pay the bills, maybe change the oil. Both work outside the home. However we envision our roles, the queen mother had it right: choose well. Apt advice to our searching sons and daughters.
Eternity for Today