Wise Words
By Patricia Chadwick

Proverbs 31:26

When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for
everything she says. (NLT)

This verse is taken from the chapter of Proverbs that
is a day-in-the life of a super-woman: The Proverbs 31 Woman.
This lady was the ultimate example of the perfect woman. I used
to shy away from this chapter, figuring that I could never
measure up.

As I grew in the Lord, I began to take another look at
the Proverbs 31 Woman. I decided that God didn't put
her in the Bible to show me what a failure I was, but to
give me an example to strive after.

As I read over Proberbs 31, verse 26 jumped out at me.
"When she speaks her words are wise..." So this woman was wise.
What is wisdom anyway? The best definition of wisdom
that I ever found was a very simple explanation. Wisdom
is making daily choices to follow God's ways. God wants
us to make those daily choices and encourage others to
do so too.

The next part of the verse elaborates on the fact that
the Proverbs 31 Woman was wise."...and kindness is the
rule for everything she says." She was so wise that she
made sure that everything that came out of her mouth
was based on being kind to others.

Elizabeth of Hungary was a thirteenth century queen
who was concerned for the needs of the sick and the
poor. As a young girl she displayed a passion for
helping people. Although she was Hungarian royalty and eventually
married King Louis IV of France, she did not live the oppulent lifestyle of
the wealthy, but devoted her life to works of charity. She could
have made daily choices to please herself, but instead she chose to
be wise and base her choices on following God's ways.

Elizabeth was known also for her kind words to the suffering.
While her husband was away fighting in the Crusades, Elizabeth
built a hospital at the foot of her castle and spent her days
nursing the sick back to health and encouraging them with her
soothing words.

Do you make DAILY choices that follow God's ways? Or do you
more often than not make choices that are best for you? Is kindness
the rule for everything you say? Before we speak and
act, we need to examine our motives and make sure that they are
pure.

Like the Proverbs 31 Super-Woman - and like Princess Elizabeth of
Hungary - we, too can infuence our worlds for good by making
wise choices in our daily lives.

**To Read more about Elizabeth of Hungary visit:
www.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith.html