The Making of A Good First Lady

By Robbie Colson-Ramsey

I was home, doing what many of us have been for the past seven months, flipping through the over 300 channels we have. I suddenly stopped flipping on CNN when I heard a commercial that made a statement. CNN simply asked, “What qualities make a good first lady?” Now, you know they were not talking about the first lady of a church but for the United States.  

That whole topic made me stop and think, “Are we really what the people want or are we doing a three-way tango between what the church wants, what the church needs, and the first lady not losing themselves?” So, I set out to compose a non-scientific list of what I think are good characteristics of a first lady though you may think differently.

The characteristics include:

1. Know and have a relationship with the Lord.  
2. Be willing to assist.
3. Do not distance from the members of the church. 
4. Understand first ladies are not the pastor.
5. Help members of the church and the pastor. 
6. Encourager to church and community. 
7. Be an incubator of prayers and ideas of members and the pastor.
8. Be a wise, active listener and observer.  
9. Have a humble spirit.
10. Be honest.
11. Own your identity.
12. Be well-balanced. 
13. Have excellent communication skills.
14. Get along with all people. 
15. Support the vision of the church. 
16. Be a positive example for the women of the church.  
17. Be obedient to God’s Word.  
18. Love people. 
19. Do not be jealous.  
20. Exercise patience.
21. Avoid gossip.
22. Have a genuine love for the church.
23. Avoid being overly familiar.
24. Be a peacemaker.
25. Complete your mate by filling in their weakness. 

This list not only defines characteristics for great first ladies. They are attributes for anyone hoping and praying to be a great person. My mother always said, “You can be nothing more than you ask of people.”