Faith

The Proverbs 31 man: Lessons to Learn

After sharing the post on The Proverbs 31 man: A challenge with some of my male friends, I got a lot of reaction from them telling me to do a more in-depth explanation. You can check the former post here.

Taking a look at Proverbs chapter 31, the passage is divided into two major parts. The first part (vs 1-9), is about the prophecy taught to King Lemuel by his mother, while the second part (vs 10-31), is a description of the life and activities of the virtuous woman.

This post is focused on the first part i.e. the prophecy taught to King Lemuel by his mother and I have split the lessons learnt into three categories:
1. A committed mother
2. An attentive son
3. A noble man

A Committed Mother. vs 1,2

A popular quote says ” a wise woman with her hands, builds her own house.”
This is a very important message to all mothers and mothers to be. Vs 2 describes her passion and commitment to her son.
A wise mother, will not use her mouth to curse her children; rather, she’ll use her mouth to guide and instruct them.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.

The best time to mould a child is when he/she is still young and tender-minded.

An Attentive Son.

Many of us as youths today, feel that our parents are old-school; so there’s no point in listening to their instructions or taking heed to their guidance. But the wise child, is one who listens and takes heed to the wise instructions of his/her parents.
King Lemuel was able to bring to mind, the prophecies of his mother because he listened and payed attention to her words.

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.2nd Timothy 2:2

Do not be a *know-it-all* kind of person. No man is an island of knowledge.
Learn to network and connect with people of like minds; take heed to good words of advice; learn to be humble and learn from others even if they are younger than you.
Reproduce yourself in others. A leader is not someone that just learns and learns, he is someone who is able to pass on the knowledge he has learnt to others.

A Noble Man.

Here goes the *main koko* of the matter. A responsible and noble man.
Verses 3-9 describes the kind of person the Proverbs 31 (henceforth referred to as P31) man is and is not.

1. He is not a womanizer. Vs 3
A man of dignity and focus should not be given to unclean acts like fornication or adultery. He is not to give his strength to strange women.

2. He is not a drunkard. Vs 3-7
The P31 man is not a man given to wine or strong drink.
Strong or alcoholic drink is not for a man in his right state of mind.
Alcohol is to be used for medicine or given to those about to perish and not for wantonness.
It is said that strong drinks are given to criminals that are about to be killed, so that they can drink and forget their sorrows. Remember, the account of Jesus on the cross?
Strong drink causes a man to forget the law and pervert judgement.

3. He is a man of action. Vs 8,9
The P31 man speaks out when he needs to. He doesn’t retreat in fear. He is bold, strong and confident.

4. He is an advocate for the poor and helpless. Vs 8
The P31 man has a caring and kind heart. He is not cruel, neither is he heartless.
He pleads the cause of the defenseless and fights for those who have no power to fight for themselves.

5. He is just. Vs 9
The P31 man judges righteously. He is fair and just. He knows what is right and does it.
He doesn’t compromise the truth for any reason. He stands for the right and pleads the cause of the needy.

P.S:- this is an explanation of the Book of Proverbs ch 31 vs 1-9. It is an explanation from my point of view as I felt inspired to write.

If you have any thoughts, reservation or observation, kindly share them with me in the comments section below ?

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P. P. S:- all Bible passages are from the King James Version.

#Esthitude
#justsaying

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