Study of Proverbs 31 - Week #10 - Supportive

This is one was hard to research -the idea in my head needed some refining before it really made sense.

A godly woman is supportive.

"She rises also while it is yet night, and gives meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard....Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land." - V. 15, 16, 23

My thought here is that she is supporting her husband and family by rising early to make sure they are fed and ready for the day. She probably does not own the field herself, yet she supports her husband by being knowledgeable in the area of agriculture and property, and tending to some of the business. That frees her husband up to be out among the elders and influential in the community. I do not mean husband is throwing his duties on the wife’s shoulders, but simply that because he has a partner who is actively supporting their endeavors, he is able to be more successful.

Webster's Dictionary - Support: to promote the interests or cause of; to assist or help; to keep another from fainting, yielding, or losing courage; to keep something going

1. Genesis 2:18 - woman was created to help man

2. Ecclesiasties 4:9-12 - two are better than one, because they help each other
3. Luke 22:26-27 - the master is not better than the servant
4. John 13:12-15 - Jesus set an example of humbly serving others
5. Romans 12:10 - outdo each other in love and honor
6. Romans 15:1-6 - bear with one another and build each other up, to glorify God together

7. Romans 16:1-2 - Phebe was praised for the help and support she gave to others
8. 1 Corinthians 9:19 - freely serve others as an example of Christ
9. Galations 5:13 - serve one another in love
10. Galations 6:2 - bear each other's burdens
11. Philippians 2:1-8 - comfort and support each other, putting others first, even as Christ became a servant to all

12. Titus 2:5 - we are to be the keeper of the home

The “support” I talk of here is just a small part of the bigger picture of serving each other which we are all called to do as Christians. Jesus set us the greatest example of serving each other in love, and honoring each other. This harks back to the study of "self-sacrificing", but I think is even more active. 

Support and service is more than just yielding to another's wishes, or giving up your own desire for someone else's, it is actively working to promote and help the other person. Bearing each other's burdens, comforting each other, helping each other, honoring each other. Being the help and support that the other person can rely on, because two working together is far better than one struggling alone.