Proverbs 31: 16 She
considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
Proverbs 31: 16.
She doesn’t buy the property just because it’s cute. She doesn’t want the field because,
“So-and-so bought his wife a field, and all the real ballers got fields
now.” She gets the field because she is
going to plant the field and work the field, and once the field becomes
profitable she can upgrade to a vineyard which will gain her family entry into
the lucrative wine market.
This isn’t a vanity purchase. It is an investment in her family’s future.
Investments take her time and her labor work and her
perseverance, but over time, investments appreciate and pay off.
Bro, you don’t need a woman who only brings back
purchases. From time to time she should
bring home an investment.
The sister ought to come home with a new degree or
certification so she can get a raise, a pack of seeds so you never have to buy
vegetables again, , a new book she just
wrote, a ball of yarn for the sweaters she’s gonna sell, a mixer for the
cupcakes she peddles out of the back door, a set of tools for the cars she
fixes on the side, a job, or something.
Something that appreciates and adds value for your family’s future.
Notice that the woman described in Proverbs 31: 16
doesn’t expect her husband to do all of the work. She appraises the land. She negotiates the purchases. She plants.
Not because she’s needs a backup plan in case this marriage thing
doesn’t work but because she knows that this family is forever and she is
investing in that future.
When my wife and I got married neither of us had
finished college. Since our wedding she
has earned 4 degree, including 2 master’s degrees and an Ed.S. You have to understand that my wife doesn’t
really like taking classes, and she HATES writing papers. She has 2 master’s degrees and an Ed.S. That’s a lot of classes and a loooooot of
papers.
She didn’t put herself through all of that because
it was required for a high school science teacher nor was she satisfying a
sense of vanity or competition. She pre-calculated
the career raises and retirement benefits, factored in job satisfaction from
the changing job titles with the 2nd masters and compared it all to
tuition costs over time. The investments
were worth it. Well worth it.
So, bro, before you trip about her going back to
school, writing that music, getting that industrial sized mixer, or ordering
pizza on Thursday because she’s got an extra-large order to fill by the
weekend------ chill. Take a breath and
consider the return on her investment. She
isn’t neglecting her wifely duties. She
is fulfilling them.
---Anderson
T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
If this message helps or touches you, please help
support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116
