GOD's Perfect Woman "A Woman of Prudence"

	Proverbs 31:26,27 "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."."
	To be prudent is to be cautious; wise; not rash; exercising sound judgment; circumspect. Wisdom in this passage of Proverbs is divine wisdom, the application of Biblical knowledge to everyday life. What is God's wisdom? James 3:17 "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." Proverbs 9:10 "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord." James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." If we have Jesus in our hearts - wisdom, knowledge, discretion and understanding have entered in. Proverbs 2:10-11 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee. To have the mind of Christ should be our highest goal as Christian women who desire wisdom. Phillipians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ. We can come to God and ask for wisdom as Solomon did in days of old. We must realize though, that with this gift comes a great responsibility - we must act on what we understand.

	There is no bitter envying, jealousy or strife in the heart of the Proverbs woman. Faith produces wisdom James 3:14,15 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. She is discreet and firm, yet very kind. Others seek her counsel and advice, they confide in her because they know she doesn't gossip. Gossip - what everyone criticizes, but all like to hear - the only time people don't like gossip is when it's about them. It seems that the more a person knows, the less he says. Proverbs 17:27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Sometimes the best way we can open our mouths with wisdom is to keep them SHUT. We can practice testing the thoughts we want to express to determine if they are worth saying. One evidence of wisdom is restraint of the tongue. The first member of the body to be under the Holy Spirit's control (after you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior) should be the tongue. James 3:8 but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. The Proverbs woman has pureness of heart and thus her tongue delights to utter words of grace and truth in love. It would exclude cutting remarks, nasty retorts, biting sarcasm, vindictive accusations, idle rumors, spicy gossip, grumbling, griping, fault-finding, back-biting, and whining.

	The greatest problem in life is the pain we cause to others. Most is caused unintentionally, but selfishness, ignorance, stupidity, thoughtlessness, and a thousand other things are the means of wounding and hurting feelings, stinging pride, dampening enthusiasm, and quenching the effort of our fellow men and women. Guard what you say to your children, they remember long into adulthood what may have been said in a sudden burst of anger. It has been said that 'people possess what they confess.' If someone constantly has negative thoughts and talks about depression and sickness, they either possess those things or those things possess them. Proverbs 23:7 for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he ... The Bible teaches that words carry everlasting consequences. Be careful when sharing prayer burdens that it doesn't develop into gossip. Do you always have to know what is going on in everyone's life. Do you strive to be the first to know everything? Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. Sometimes we are so taken with what's wrong with others that we neglect to clean up the garbage in our own backyard! Christians need to minister to each other by loving, encouraging and praying for one another. The kind of woman God wants us to be is one whose words refresh and are a blessing to others. You should want to have a gracious and positive attitude that uplifts and encourages others.

	The Proverbs woman looketh well to the ways of her household. She continually watches the direction her family is headed. She notices the habits, actions and speech of her children. She exercises firm but loving discipline over each child and offers encouragement to each when it is needed. She knows where each family member is, who he/she is with, how he/she is progressing in school or at his/her job, and what his/her hopes and dreams are. Make sure you know your children so well that when they have sudden change, you can sense that something is wrong. It means taking time to listen to each one in your household, letting them know you love them. Take time to listen to what you children have to say. You may not always agree with them, but it nutures an openness between the parent and child. Don't get discouraged. It's all worth it. When your children get older, you'll hear a lot more feed-back from them and appreciation for your training based on the word of God. You need to know where each member of your household is in his/her relationship to the Lord. You can do this by conversation, but also by observation. Talk to them about the Lord. PRAY WITH THEM. It is necessary for a woman to be prudent as she keeps a watch over her life so she may live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord. To avoid the snares of the world, we must watch our W - words (Matt.12:36) idle words A - actions (Phil.1:27) striving together T - thoughts (Prov. 23:7) thinketh in his heart C - companions (Prov.13:20) walk with wise men H - home (Deut. 6:4-9) teach children to love the Lord GUIDELINES FOR MUSIC MOVIES, BOOKS, and TELEVISION Does it have curse words? Anything that puts down God or authority ought to be put down in your life. (Romans 13, Hebrews 13) Does it have words or phrases that promote sexual thoughts? Does the beat make you feel fleshy and irresponsible? There are many songs and programs that lift your spirits, but don't let them lift the spirits toward the flesh. Does it take you toward Jesus? Is it the type of thing you would listen to when you feel like backsliding? Are you watchful about singers, actors, authors and what you know about their lives? Often these people do not practice what they preach. Beware of the styles of clothes and where they originate from.

	Ask the Lord to make your ears sensitive to your words, that they will glorify Him and bring blessings to others. Seek the Lord's guidance as you look to the ways of your household, that He will give you the wisdom that you need. Keep your words soft and sweet, you'll never know which ones you have to eat. Practice these principles from Proverbs to maintain good Christian conversation: Always speak the truth - Prov. 6:16,17,19 Speak few words, and speak wisely - Prov. 10:19; 17:27; 29:11 Good words can make people feel better - Prov. 12:18,25; 15:30 Stop quarrels with soft words - Prov. 15:1 Speak out for justice - Prov. 31:8,9 5. Take the speech habits quiz. Prov. 10:18-21 Do you use words sparingly? 10:19 Are your words worth listening to? 10:20 Do your words nourish and instruct others? 10:21 WE HAVE A HARD JOB TO DO, TO BE IN THE WORLD AND NOT OF THE WORLD!

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