Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
Proverbs 31
Everyone is in a circle of authority. A husband may be in authority at home and under authority at work. A wife may be under authority at home and in authority at work. The children are under authority to their parents but in authority over the cat. We are all in authority and under authority. God has deemed it so.
There are five sets of relationships in Scripture that depict these authority relationships: husband/wife, parent/child, master/slave, government/citizen, and church/ member. No one can ever get out of authority relationships. They are God ordained.
Scripture makes clear, however, that authority is never given so that a person can abuse or neglect someone else. In Scripture, authority is given only so the person in authority can exercise his authority for the benefit of the people under him. All authority is to be benevolent authority, and it is to be submissive to the needs of those under him. At the same time, the person in authority is not free to disregard the authority of the people over him. The first creates tyranny while the second creates anarchy. Only the biblical balance works. The person under authority must, of course, disobey if the authority asks him to do something contrary to God’s ordained law as outlined in His Holy Word.
If you are so fortunate as to be under another who exercises his authority for your benefit, that is the best situation and one in which you can thrive. That is the case with the Proverbs 31 woman. She is under authority. But she is under benevolent, appreciative, supportive authority. And, as a result, she thrives and becomes all that she was meant by the Lord to be.
This has several lessons for us. First, we can try to be sure we end up under benevolent, appreciative, and supportive authority. This is especially important when a woman decides whether to marry a man. If he is a biblical man, she will thrive. If not, she will suffer. The same thing is true of employees. If we can get a job under someone who helps us, it will be to our advantage. But there are some things we have no control over, such as our parents or the country in which we were born. In those cases, principles for submission may be found in other places in Scripture.
The point here, however, is that the Proverbs 31 woman is under authority yet thrives. It should be used for women as an example for their own behavior and attitudes and for men in choosing a wife who will have a biblical attitude toward life.
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to model the example of a true biblical leader.
- Lord, please help me to model the example of a true biblical servant.
- Lord, please help me to live the reality that everyone is to model God’s design of the circle of authority.
Political
- Representative Joseph Bellino – District 17 – Monroe
- US Representative Jack Bergman – District 1 – Watersmeet
- Representative Ryan Berman – District 39 – Commerce Township