“The virtuous woman was not afraid to get into the work herself. It is true that she directed and arranged for the work of others, but it is recorded that she worked ‘willingly with her hands’ (vs. 31:13), that she rose also ‘while it [was] yet night’ (vs. 15), that she ‘girdeth her loins with strength’ (vs. 17) and that ‘her candle goeth not out by night’ (vs. 18). She not only directed her household, but led by example.
“Finally, she brought up her children in a way that caused them to ‘arise up, and call her blessed’ (vs. 28). She was characterized by ‘strength and honor’ (vs. 25), yet ‘she openeth her mouth with wisdom,’ and ‘in her tongue is the law of kindness’ (vs. 26).
“I believe we see in this account God’s wisdom brought before us. Today the care of a household and the bringing up of children is sometimes despised, as if it were work better left to those who could not ‘make it’ in the outside world. Here we see how God has fitted the woman to rule the house and to use her gifts in directing the home in the right way. The combination of the virtues of strength, honor, wisdom, and kindness uniquely fitted this woman for her role, and I believe God is showing us that these things can characterize any woman of God. For this reason it is hard to overemphasize the importance of a wife and mother in the home, particularly in her character as a mother. When children are young and impressionable, it is their mother who is best fitted to mold their character and shape their will on a day-by-day basis. Doubtless the father, too, must share in this responsibility, but because he is absent from the home part of the day because of employment, the children will be left more in the mother’s care. Her careful attention to ‘the nurture and admonition of the Lord’ during their formative years is a most important responsibility and one neglected only to the detriment of her children.”
— W. J. Prost. “A Virtuous Woman” The Christian Jan. 2010: 16-17.