the Virtuous Woman – watercress words by Dr Aletha

The Biblical “Superwoman”

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Proverbs 31:10, KJV, King James Version, public domain

If you’ve read or heard much of the Bible, you’ve probably learned about the Proverbs 31 Virtuous Woman. And if you attend church you’ve probably heard a sermon or a class about it. And if so, you may have felt intimidated by trying to live up to this ideal “virtuous woman”.

More modern translations of the Bible translate the original word virtuous in other ways-excellent, capable, noble, even simply “truly good.”
But women can still end up feeling they just don’t measure up to the ideal.

Even though Vickey Courtney wrote her book, The Virtuous Woman: Shattering the Superwoman Myth, 20 years ago, not much has changed for the standards women hold themselves and each other to. And not just in the church.

With social media, we now can quickly and easily compare ourselves to each other, and to popular “influencers”, causing us to feel even more pressure to measure up.

Shattering the Superwoman Myth

But Vicky Courtney shows us a different view of excellence, or what one Bible version calls a “woman of strength” (NRSUE).

2 women talking over coffee with open bibles — graphic from the Lightstock collection, an affiliate link

“Deep in the heart of every person is a desperate need to feel worth and value. Most people will end up defining their worth according to the world rather than by God’s standard of measure.

Defining our worth correctly is critical not only in our pursuit to be a virtuous (excellent) woman but for our overall mental health. One can wonder how many addictions, mental anxieties, and health problems could be avoided if the worth of the individual had been properly defined in the first place.

The virtuous (excellent) woman of Proverbs 31 had defined her worth according to God’s standards. “
Vicki Courtney

women standing with arms around each other

5 people young men and women with arms overlapping their shoulders

Read a sample at this link

Other books by Vickie Courtney

Listen to a sample here

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