10 A wife of noble character who can find?     She is worth far more than rubies.…26 She speaks with wisdom,     and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household     and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed;     her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women do noble things,     but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;     but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,     and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen SheadThe poem about the “wife of noble character” in Proverbs 31 is often used to tell single men that, if they want to get married, they should try to find a wife like this. Let me break it to you, guys: you won’t find her, because this isn’t describing an actual person, and no woman lives up to the picture painted here. In fact, you don’t live up to it either – and I’m sure the girls will appreciate not having that sort of pressure put on them!The “wife of noble character” (v 10) is a poetic description of wisdom. Early in the book, both wisdom and folly were pictured as women calling out to people passing by (chapter 9). Here, the book finishes with a summary of what wisdom looks like in everyday life – and it does it by describing an imaginary woman, who illustrates all of the major themes of the book: she is godly in character, hard-working and diligent, she avoids idleness (v 27), she is generous to the poor (v 20), and she speaks with faithful, loving instruction (v 26).I found this a helpful reminder of two things. First, as we saw in the very first devotion, true wisdom starts with “the fear of the Lord” (v 30) – that is, humble, worshipful submission to God, or submitting to Christ as Lord. Don’t go for what is charming or attractive. Don’t “follow your heart” – that’s Disney wisdom. Our hearts are deceptive; God’s word is flawless, as we saw yesterday.And secondly, true wisdom is very practical. It’s not about deep philosophies, it’s about rolling your sleeves up, being responsible, treating others with God’s righteousness, and walking in all the good works which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).In what parts of your character or your practical living do you still feel you lack that wisdom? Ask God now – and believe his promise that he gives his wisdom generously to all who sincerely ask him (James 1:5).ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen leads the St Barnabas ministry team.