Women’s Sunday: “Wonder Women”

Proverbs 31

Cheryl Elliot, STHPC, May 4, 2025

PW Horizons magazine once a year provides a women’s worship service format to celebrate the gifts of women in our church.  When Pat Wolfe announced she was thinking of doing a woman-led service for May 4th,  I looked in back copies of Horizons, and found one based on Proverbs 31:10-31 entitled “Wonder Woman-Real or Myth?”.  I was intrigued with the subject and thus volunteered to do the sermon.

Our Proverbs 31 verses reportedly came from advice given by the Queen Mother to King Lemuel ( which some think really was a pen name for King Solomon). She was telling her son to express to his son what to look for when searching for a wife.  This woman is celebrated as the ideal, archetype of a wife of noble character.  She is supposed to be the model for which every woman should strive. But are we really suggesting that this woman, who must be overworked, tired, and honored only for the ways she makes her husband and household look good,  is truly the model we want to promote?  And  wouldn’t she must have superpowers, like Wonder Woman, to do all that she is asked to do?

Proverbs 31:10-31 has a lot of content. It was originally presented as an acrostic poem with each verse using the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet which has 22 letters. So that is a lot of verses.  I found the following on the internet that does a nice summary of the characteristics.

1) Woman of Worth- she is of great value to her family and community.

2) Diligence and Hard Work- She is proactive in providing for her family and is not afraid of labor.

3) Generosity and Compassion- She is generous to the poor and needy and she helps those in need.  She is a woman of compassion and kindness.

4) Wisdom and Discernment- She is described as a woman of wisdom, who makes wise decisions and manages her household well.  She is discerning and knows how to make the best use of her resources.

5) Fear of the Lord- Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

6) A blessing to her Family and Community- Her actions and character bring blessings to her husband and family and those around her. She is a source of strength and stability for her family.

7) A Biblical Example- She is not just a model of domesticity, but a representation of a woman who lives a life of purpose and faith, reflecting God’s character and values. 

8) A Call to Excellence- this passage serves as a call to excellence for all, encouraging individuals to strive for wisdom, diligence, and a life that honors God.

 We don’t feel there is any ONE super woman who could do all as described in this chapter, but over the years we tend to preach that this role model is the one we should strive to emulate. We also don’t believe that King Lemuel nor the Queen Mother really ever felt there was any single woman that could meet all of the listed traits.

The Proverbs woman is great in theory  but she would not be able to do all of these tasks by herself.  She would have had to have help.

H. James Hopkins, author of  ‘ Homiletical Perspective on Proverbs 31:10-31’ , is quoted as saying, “Perhaps this re-rendering is good news for someone who has been beating herself up because she can’t be ‘all things to all people’”. 

I ask all of us to think of women in your life .  How many could you say display all these characteristics, or even half of them.. Not likely.

But I bet you know some women who bust their britches to strive to achieve this super women status.  If you grew up in the church, you would have sure been encouraged to be that super woman or man.  But those women never sleep! and that is not healthy.

So what is that we should take from all of this.  If we can’t be the Wonder Woman figure Proverbs 31 suggest we should be, should we just give up and not try to be any of these things.  Of course not!   God wants us to give our time, talents and treasures as we are able.   If we  can strive to serve to the best of our abilities, either by ourself or better yet, as a team, God will surely smile on us. He will be on our side, as we push ourselves to stretch ourselves a bit more.  We probably will never be able to achieve ‘Wonder Women’ status as represented by this Proverbs chapter, but we should be encouraged to do as much as we can and encourage others to join in serving our Lord. A faithful, happy, willing worker can be a good example to others, and thus gather up  more to join in and  allow many hands to ease the overall burdens of life.

It is important to identify where and how, we, the modern woman (and man too!), can find themselves in this text.  Can you see yourself:

--making  a difference in the community for the common good

--caring for people in need

--supporting family.

We don’t have to create lots of new mission outreach programs, there are others that have preceded us and have done the initial groundwork.  We just need to avail ourselves to support these noble causes.  And if we see a need not being met, we can gather folks together and work our best to meet that need.

No single person can or must do it all alone. Also know that we are not expected to  tire out to the point of exhaustion rendering us ineffective.  We need to feel comfortable in asking for help!

By striving to embody these qualities in your daily life, you can begin to live more like the Proverbs 31 woman and experience the blessings and fulfillment that comes with a life dedicated  to serving God and others.  As found in Micah 6:8, we are told what the Lord requires of us;  to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.

There are many women in the bible that have shown they indeed strived to be worthy of super woman status. Rahab who risked her life to hide the Israelite spies sent in before the fall of Jericho.  She had faith that they would protect her family in return for the favor and they did. 

The five daughters of Zelophehad (depicted on our bulletin cover) who brought forward to the Israelite community the legal case of a woman’s rights and obligation to inherit property in the absence of a male heir in the family. Because they were strong and courageous, they were granted their request.

Our second scripture  today spoke of Martha and Mary.  Martha was super busy making sure all was perfect for Jesus’ visit to their home.  She was upset with Mary for not helping her as she was spending a great deal of time listening to Jesus.  Martha’s gift was hospitality and her faith was very strong.  Mary needed to spend the precious time with Jesus to deepen her faith.  So both were being faithful to God’s calling.

In summary what we should take from all of this is that a woman’s purpose in the Bible and in today’s world, is that she is to be a strong, capable, and compassionate helper to her husband and family, a faithful disciple to  Jesus, and a positive influence in the church and society.  She is called to reflect God’s character, use her gifts for His glory and actively participate in fulfilling His purpose on earth.

  Still feels like a lot to strive for, but certainly not impossible! Will we fall short of these expectations… for sure… but we can ask forgiveness and ask for strength to use it as a opportunity to grow closer to God.

In closing, I want to offer up a recent quote from the late Pope Francis. “Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.  Living for others is a rule of nature.  We are all born to help each other.  No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you. AMEN.

©Cheryl Elliot 2025