Stacy is the wife of John Gentry who serves as the CEIbooks manager and preaches in Waverly, TN. The Gentrys have five children. John and Stacy can be reached at john@truthpublications.com.

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Prov. 31:30). Throughout the centuries, women have been striving to be like the worthy woman that is described in the book of Proverbs. The Bible gives us many examples of these worthy women: Mary the Mother of Jesus, Priscilla, Dorcas, and many others. In the book of Acts, we are introduced to a woman named Lydia. In six short verses, we learn how Lydia is a wonderful example of the woman described in Proverbs 31.

Acts 16:11-15 says,

So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

We are given very little information about Lydia, but we can learn many valuable lessons from the things the Bible does tell us about her.

Acts 16:14 tells us that Lydia was a seller of purple, which in that day was a lucrative business that most likely led to her being quite wealthy. Purple cloth was made by painstakingly, extracting the dye from the murex shell or the madder root. The dye was hard to come by, which made it a coveted luxury among royalty and those who were wealthy enough to purchase it. We also learn in verse 14 that Lydia was from Thyatira. Thyatira was about 250 miles southeast of Philippi in modern Turkey. It was a town known for its trade guilds. We can safely assume from the Scriptures that at the time of Paul's writing, Lydia was residing in Philippi.

As mentioned before, the Scriptures give us insight into the kind of woman that Lydia was. She appeared to be someone who feared the Lord and wanted to be obedient. If we carefully examine the life that Lydia lived, we can learn many things from her godly example. Let us briefly consider a few of the lessons we can learn from Lydia.

1. Lydia learned that a "worshiper" of God doesn't always mean an obedient believer of God. In Acts 16:13, we are told that Paul and his companions went to the place of prayer and spoke to the women who were gathered there. In verse 14, Lydia is referred to as a worshiper of God. In our day, many people would assume that phrase means that she is an obedient child of God. However, at the end of verse 14, Paul describes how the Lord opened her heart and she paid attention to what was being said. Then in verse 15, we are told that Lydia was baptized. It is apparent that although Lydia worshiped God, she had yet to obey the Lord and be baptized for the remission of her sins. Therefore, she was not a faithful Christian. Our world is full of many good people who seem to fear the Lord and want to be obedient to him. However, many of those people have never put on Christ by being baptized (Gal. 3:27). We can learn from Lydia's example that being a good person is not enough; believing in God and having a desire to worship Him is not enough. We must be willing to be obedient to all that the Bible teaches us about salvation (Acts 2:38).

2. Lydia led her family to the Lord. Many people underestimate the power and influence that a godly mother and/or wife can have over an entire family. Lydia is a good example of this. Apparently, she must have already been living in such a way that she earned the respect and honor of her entire household. Otherwise they may have dismissed her desires for them to also be saved. In verse 15 of Acts 16, we learn that Lydia and her entire household were baptized. We aren't given the specific names of the people residing in her home. We aren't even told how many there were. It is quite possible it was a large number that may have included children, extended family, and servants. Lydia was concerned for the souls of those who were a part of her household and, through her example of obedience, they were also saved. Most likely Proverbs 31:26 could have been applied to Lydia, "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue."

3. Lydia used her home to extend hospitality. In Acts 16:15, it says that Lydia urged Paul and his companions to come to her house and stay. The NIV translates the last phrase of verse 15 as, "And she persuaded us." She was insistent that they stay with her. What a powerful example! Here was a recent convert who ran a successful business and was busy managing a large household, and she was persuading people to come to her home and stay. Not only was she providing food and shelter for those who needed it, she was also providing a place for the church to worship (Acts 16:40). It would have been easy for Lydia to make excuses for why she could not let anyone stay with her. After all, she was an important business woman, probably with a never-ending to-do list. She could have made the excuse that she already had so many people living in her home, there just would not be any room for anyone else. Lydia saw that there was a need and did what she could to satisfy the need, and she did it with the heart of a true servant. She wanted to extend hospitality. She lived 1 Peter 4:9, "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." What a wonderful example for us! The writer of Proverbs 31 was writing about women like Lydia when he said, "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy" (Prov. 31:20).

Without a doubt, there are many more lessons that can be learned from the example of Lydia. Although her appearance in the book of Acts is a brief one, it gives us a glimpse of the remarkable woman that she was and how her life and obedience impacted the lives of so many others. May God help us learn to be like Lydia.