A Proverbs 31 Woman Knows When Quality Is Worth It

There is a thought that luxuries are sinful. I’m very literal, so growing up I had some wrong ideas about money. Because of all the sermons I heard about giving my wealth to God, I had the idea that having wealth is a sin. I’ve since figured out that money isn’t sinful. Loving money more than I love God is the sin that I need to avoid.

She is like the merchants, bringing her food from afar.

Proverbs 31:14

Quality Products Last Longer

The Bible doesn’t say everyone should live in poverty. It does say that God should be the center of our lives not money. A wise Christian knows that sometimes it’s more expensive to buy a cheap product we have to replace all the time than a well made more expensive product we buy once and it lasts for years.

The ideal woman in Proverbs 31 doesn’t buy only the local stuff she can get in the market. She knows what is worth saving up for and spending the extra money for, like spices that weren’t produced near her or the best dyes for her linen.

Not Everything Needs To Be Name Brand

The ideal Christian woman also knows when to buy the cheap stuff. More expensive does not always mean better. Sometimes the cheaper supermarket brand of a common spice is just as good as the super fancy name brand spice that claims to be made overseas. While buying an expensive knife once can last longer than a new knife every year that you use often, not everyone needs the whole expensive knife set and knife block. Personally, I don’t cook much so I have one expensive meat knife and a few inexpensive knives for cheese and veggies along with non-brand butter knives. I have no idea what the other knives in a set are for, so I don’t have them.

Getting luxuries that improve your life instead of cheaper versions is allowed. If you love cooking, maybe the expensive knife set is worth it to you. I’d rather spend my fun money on a new craft gadget than a cooking gadget. Everyone has different preferences. Knowing what expensive items you’ll use and which you may think are cool, but will never touch is important.

It’s when those luxuries are more important than God that they become bad. God wants us happy. He just wants us focused on our eternal happiness, not on fleeting joy. We should be focused on building wealth in heaven, not obsessing over earthly comforts. Buying things that distract us from God’s plan is when we get into the “luxuries are sinful” territory.