It really doesn't matter

Our society has had its values upside down for a long time. We have validated the wrong and given importance to what is not transcendent. A woman confident of herself is a better role model than a woman fearful of God and the church has done little to undo this confusion. Society's ideals of success and beauty set standards unreachable for most women and which are far from what the Lord deems as value in a woman (1 Peter 3: 1-7). The Bible focuses its teachings on the elements that produce true worth in a woman and a standard which is attainable by each of them. While this book focuses on these Biblical teachings, I want us to feel freedom in the Lord by knowing what things do not matter so that we get rid of prejudices and pressures imposed by a society that does not glorify God or give Him thanks (Romans 1:21).

Academy

An academic degree does not guarantee education and proper behavior, nor is it a requirement to be a woman of worth. Not to say that it is bad for women to be educated, cultivating their minds, and better that they do not at all. Despite your effort in academics, in the workplace, or in your success as a professional, there are duties of the home that are your responsibility and you must do them as for the Lord: with joy and excellence. Nothing is mentioned in the Bible about the educational level of the virtuous woman because it really doesn't matter.

Age

According to the marriage practices depicted in the Old Testament, it could be assumed that the virtuous woman is very young. However, due to her many virtues, she may be very old since many of them come with experience though age. Whatever your age, whether you have been married for a long time, or whether you are newlywed, being a dignified, honorable woman is always important. You will not have wasted years by not being one, neither will you waste years by being one. It is an exercise of the soul and a lifelong process to achieve all these qualities. The important thing is to start. If you are single you still have a family whom you can honor in such a way that they are witnesses of your dignity. Your parents, your nieces and nephews, your friends, your coworkers, and your church congregation will see this idealized woman made reality in you for the glory of God. The virtuous woman's age we do not know. What we do know is that since the Bible does not mention or make reference to it, it really doesn't matter.

Size

Beauty is important in all cultures, but the concept of beauty changes not only from one culture to another but from person to person within each culture. This mother of a king is not worried for her son to find a physically beautiful woman because every woman is beautiful in her own way. Physical beauty is an aspect too trivial to be a determining factor as it is constantly changing and transient while the stability of spiritual beauty determines true value of a person. Some believe that the cultural concept of beauty in biblical times appreciated a larger woman in contrast to the skinny woman of today. Whether you are underweight or overweight, whether you are flabby or your ribs are visible, true beauty is found within. We are what we are as we are and being the best version of ourselves for the glory of God. This is what really matters. Love yourself how God made you in His love. The Bible does not give detail to the physical attributes of the virtuous woman because it really doesn't matter. IT DOES NOT MATTER!

Wealth

Neither is the economic level of the virtuous woman mentioned in Scripture. Rich women are not better off for having much, nor are poor women worse off for having nothing. We will see that the virtuous woman has servants and does business, but this is a result of her industriousness and not of the inheritance through family lineage. In many romantic books and movies, we see the opposite poles that society idealizes. The glamorous and wealthy evil woman versus the beautiful, sweet, good woman who lives in poverty. We have also seen that the suffered woman seeks success in wealth and power. We have grown up seeing that true love is found by a princess with a prince, leaving most women hopeless, because the majority of women in the world are not princesses. In reality there are less than 100 princesses worldwide. Only the blessing of God enriches and determines true worth of those who seek him wholeheartedly. Your bank accounts and material possessions really don't matter.

Culture

Although we can determine that the virtuous woman is Hebrew by the use of the alphabet as a teaching tool, and because the general context that the Bible speaks is of that culture, we will soon see that the characteristics she exhibits apply to all cultures, breaking cultural paradigms and giving rise to the universal truth of the Word of God. The Bible does not give preference to any given culture because it really doesn't matter.

Lo que realmente no importa

Nuestra sociedad ha tenido sus valores al revés durante mucho tiempo. Hemos validado lo incorrecto y le hemos dado importancia a lo que no es trascendente. Una mujer segura de sí misma es un mejor modelo a seguir que una mujer temerosa de Dios y la iglesia ha hecho poco para deshacer esta confusión. Los ideales de éxito y belleza de la sociedad establecen estándares inalcanzables para la mayoría de las mujeres y que están lejos de lo que el Señor considera valioso en una mujer (1 Pedro 3:1-7). La Biblia enfoca sus enseñanzas en los elementos que producen un verdadero valor en una mujer y un estándar que cada una puede alcanzar. Si bien este libro se enfoca en estas, quiero que sintamos libertad en el Señor al saber qué cosas no importan para deshacernos de los prejuicios y las presiones impuestas por una sociedad que no glorifica a Dios, ni le da las gracias (Romanos 1:21).

Academia

Un título académico no garantiza la educación y el comportamiento adecuado, ni es un requisito para ser una mujer de valor. Tampoco es que sea malo que las mujeres se eduquen y cultiven, y es mejor que no estudies, para nada. Pero a pesar de tu esfuerzo académico o laboral, y tu éxito como profesional, hay deberes del hogar que son tu responsabilidad y debes hacerlos como para el Señor: con alegría y excelencia. Nada se menciona en la Biblia el nivel académico de la mujer virtuosa porque realmente no importa.

Edad

Según las prácticas matrimoniales descritas en el Antiguo Testamento, se podría suponer que la mujer virtuosa es muy joven. Sin embargo, debido a sus muchas virtudes, puede ser mayor ya que varias de estas vienen con experiencia a través de los años. Independientemente de tu edad, ya sea que hayas estado casada durante mucho tiempo o recién empiezas esta etapa, ser una mujer digna y honorable siempre es importante. No has desperdiciado años no siendo una, ni los desperdiciarás siéndolo. Es un ejercicio del alma y un proceso de toda la vida lograr todas las cualidades de la mujer virtuosa. Lo importante es comenzar. Si eres soltera, seguro tienes una familia a la que puedes honrar de tal manera que sean testigos de tu dignidad. Tus padres, tus sobrinas y sobrinos, tus amigos, tus compañeros de trabajo y la congregación de tu iglesia verán a esta mujer idealizada hecha realidad en ti para la gloria de Dios. La edad de la mujer virtuosa no la conocemos. Lo que sí sabemos es que, dado que la Biblia no lo menciona ni hace referencia a ello, la edad realmente no importa.

Talla

La belleza es importante en todas las culturas, pero el concepto de esta cambia no solo de una cultura a otra sino de una persona a otra, dentro de cada cultura. Esta madre de un rey, no está preocupada porque su hijo encuentre una mujer físicamente hermosa, porque cada mujer es hermosa a su manera. La belleza física es un aspecto demasiado trivial para ser un factor determinante, ya que cambia constantemente y es transitoria, mientras que la estabilidad de la belleza espiritual determina el verdadero valor de una persona. Algunos creen que el concepto cultural de belleza en los tiempos bíblicos apreciaba a una mujer de talla grande en contraste con la mujer delgada de hoy en día. Sea que te falte peso o tengas de más, que tengas flacidez o que tus costillas sean visibles, la verdadera belleza se encuentra dentro. Somos lo que somos, tal como somos, y ser la mejor versión de nosotras mismas para la gloria de Dios es lo que realmente importa. Ámate a ti misma tal como Dios, en Su gran amor, te hizo. La Biblia no da detalles a los atributos físicos de la mujer virtuosa porque realmente no importa. ¡NO IMPORTA!

Riqueza

Tampoco se menciona el nivel económico de la mujer virtuosa en las Escrituras. Las mujeres ricas no son mejores por tener mucho, ni las mujeres pobres son peores por no tener nada. Veremos que la mujer virtuosa tiene sirvientes y hace negocios, pero esto es el resultado de su laboriosidad y no de la herencia de una familia de alcurnia. En muchos libros y películas románticas, vemos los polos opuestos que la sociedad idealiza. La mujer malvada, glamorosa y rica frente a la bella, dulce y buena mujer que vive en la pobreza. También hemos visto que la mujer que sufre busca el éxito en la riqueza y el poder. Hemos crecido viendo que el amor verdadero lo encuentra una princesa con un príncipe, dejando a la mayoría de las mujeres sin esperanza, porque la mayoría de las mujeres en el mundo no son princesas. En realidad, las princesas representan una minúscula porción de la sociedad. Solo la bendición de Dios enriquece y determina el verdadero valor de aquellos que lo buscan de todo corazón. Tu cuenta bancaria y tus posesiones materiales realmente no importan.

Cultura

Aunque podemos determinar que la mujer virtuosa es hebrea mediante el uso del alfabeto como herramienta de enseñanza, y debido a que el contexto general de la Biblia representa esa cultura, pronto veremos que las características que exhibe se aplican a todas las culturas, rompiendo paradigmas culturales y dando lugar a la verdad universal de la Palabra de Dios. La Biblia no da preferencia a ninguna cultura porque realmente no importa.

Chapter 2

Why Does it Have to be Christ-centered?

For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

This book is for Christian women; those women who have faith in God and enjoy their salvation in Christ Jesus. We are followers of Christ and that is why we are called Christians. For that reason and our faith in eternal life in Christ, we should live according to his teachings.

The teachings of Jesus apply to every aspect of our lives; from our personal care and our relationships to our end-of-the-year celebrations encompass every day of our entire lives. Therefore, we should keep our Lord in mind as we regularly take care of our relationships, as part of our personal care, and when celebrating. Why? Because our Lord desires so much to be an integral part of our lives that He gave us 1050 commands in the New Testament to help us accomplish that.

The above verse that is the basis for this devotional speaks of the Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem as a child, the son of a virgin woman, and also the Son of God. He would come to be known by all his people by the names that are mentioned of Him which we will see below.

Wonderful Counselor. The wisdom you need to make wise decisions this time of the year comes from Him. He has offered it abundantly to those who ask and has revealed it to us through His truth in the Bible. Take hold of the wisdom that Christ Jesus gives you to open or close doors in your life to the influences of the times. I tell you honestly that this book would not be necessary if we all followed the teachings of Christ found in the Bible. However, since we all need encouragement and direction, through these devotionals I share what God has revealed to me as well to overcome.

Mighty God, the one true God. Everything that man falsely deifies and wrongly worships is created by the Almighty God and man’s imagination resulting from misguided personal needs leads him to choose the created over the Creator. There is only one True and Mighty God who created all things with just the sound of His voice; He is our God, the only God rightly worthy of our worship. It is the Son of the Mighty God, Christ Jesus, who saves us and for that reason, our life must revolve around Him, the Only One who has the power to truly help us.

Eternal Father. The love of our Father is an eternal giving love; He gave His only Son. I remember one time when I was a teenager and my dad and I went to the movies. I was cold because I wasn’t wearing a sweater and my dad gave me his jacket. Looking back, I don't know if my dad got cold after he gave me his jacket, but I know that he gave it to me out of love. This makes me think, on a larger scale and in something much more important than being cold, how my Eternal Father emptied Himself for me.

Prince of Peace. When the angels gave the good news to the shepherds, they spoke to them about “peace on earth;” peace which you have access to through Jesus. During the end-of-the-year celebrations, many people get overwhelmed with goals, expenses, recipes, meetings, commitments, etc., and rarely are these people happy and at peace. It is logical because who can have peace with so much to do and it is this busyness surrounding the end-of-the-year season that the enemy uses to keep us far from the Prince of Peace. The end-of-the-year celebrations, especially Christmas, are the perfect times to rest in the arms of the Prince who comes valiantly on a white horse to rescue you from what torments your soul. Do not hesitate to ask for His help. Look for Him in the Bible, in prayer, and in music that praises His greatness and reminds you who He is. Sister, find calm for your mind, your heart, and your soul at the end-of-the-year celebrations in the presence of the Prince of Peace.

As a Christian Life Coach, many people look to me for advice, prayers, and guidance, and I like to help them. I know exactly what they are looking for because I have been in similar situations or helped others through them. Although my experiences may provide guidance that could help your situation, I will always lead you to the Wonderful Counselor who has all wisdom; to the strong and only God who sustains you and who can help you; to the Father who always loves you; and to the Prince of Peace who will guard your heart and mind.

Why Christ-centered celebrations? Because He is the Eternal Father who has blessed us with goodness from the beginning of our lives and will continue to do so for all eternity. In this devotional are four valid reasons to center your end-of-the-year celebrations around Christ and four reasons to make Him the center of your life.