Fresh Perspective on the Proverbs 31 Woman

I came across this passage in the book I'm reading: Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. I found it especially challenging yet uplifting that she wasn't praised for any of her activities but for her character. And she chose to control her attitudes and tongue! So challenging and yet God allows us to accomplish this if we seek Him for grace and discipline!

A Woman of Character
A very familiar passage, Prov 31:10-31, gives a portrait of a woman of character and wisdom. When you read about this superwoman, what comes to your mind? A long litany of her achievements? I thought so. She was a paramount "doer". Yet, if you look carefully at the text, you will discover that all she accomplished flowed from her inner character. this woman took her knowledge of God and applied it in a skillful and successful way so that her life became a picture of beauty. It's interesting that we don't know her name or what she looked like. We don't know anything about her personality.
We do know, however, that her husband and grown children praised her. "There are many women of character but you surpass them all! Charm is deceiving, hiding an ugly personality, and beauty is only skin deep. But a woman who fears and reverences God is truly charming and lovely. Give her praise!" (verses 29-30 AMP). Did you note what they praised her for? Not because she was up at dawn, working into the night, or because she sewed her clothes, organized the home, and took food to the poor. They praised her for her spiritual character. What a tribute! Of all the women they know, she was the best.
This exceptional woman believed that God was the Blessed Controller of her life. But she also knew that God expected her to make godly choices to rule over herself. This involved making herself attractive by the "fine linen and purple" she wore (verse 22). A more difficult choice was to rule over her tongue: "She opens her mouth with skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness" (verse 26, AMP). The Proverbs 31 woman was not controlled by her circumstances and the demands of her family, her household, or her home business. She was ruler of her attitudes, her time, and her schedule. Her relationship with God was central. All that she became was a result of her yielding to His sovereign control. She allowed Him to place His brushstrokes on the canvas of her life. But she also chose to rule her appearance, her mouth, and her activities.