Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
I love the book of Proverbs. So practical, so helpful, so good! I've been reading over this verse a lot lately and I've been considering what builds a house and what tears it down. Obviously, hammers and nails can build houses but what we are discussing here is a home. And can a woman really tear her house down with her own hands? Absolutely!
How do we build our houses? The center focus of our homes must be Christ Jesus! He must be the priority in our lives. Psalm 127:1 says, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Our homes should be loving, cozy, welcoming places to be, where Christ is honored and celebrated, where our husbands are loved and our children are loved as well. Where guests know they are welcome. Does this describe your home? As women we are the workers at home who see to it that we cook delicious food for our families, not serving them the easy junk, and we see to it that our homes are clean and orderly and peaceful, and our husbands have what they need. We make sure that the children are loved well and taught well. What a blessing it is to work at home! We can build our homes with our words, our actions, and our service to our families. We can build our homes by training our children to work. The bible tells us that a wise woman builds her house. It is wise to work hard, love the Lord, be a helpmate to your husband, and love and train your children. It is wise to meditate on God's word each day, pray for your family, serve others and respond correctly in difficult times. I'm not telling you it is easy, I'm saying it is wise!
How do we tear down our houses? Whereas building our homes takes hard work and determination and commitment, tearing down our homes is easy. Harsh words, negative attitudes, laziness and selfishness will tear down a house very quickly. If our attention is focused on ourselves we will neglect the wise things and tear our homes down with our own hands. I believe in a lot of cases where one takes the "easy way out" the house is torn down. Where the center of the home is "self" the house is torn down. Thinking we can do things our own way or according to the world's wisdom will tear down a house. We must look at each decision we make through the Word of God...God's wisdom vs. man's wisdom! A tearing down can begin with our words. We women have great power with our words. Do you speak loving kind words or harsh critical words? Our children are learning how to respond by watching us! I think a failure or refusal to communicate will tear down a house possibly faster than anything else. In a home where there is dysfunction there is ALWAYS a lack of communication. We will tear down our house with our own hands if we don't communicate properly, or if we don't respond correctly when we are hurt.
I want to build my house and not tear it down, don't you? I'm going to be studying and praying and working on doing all I can to build my house. I am also going to ask forgiveness for times when I tore down my house with my own hands. I'm starting a list of house "builders" and house "destroyers". In my prayer and study time each day I am going to review this list and add to it. Join me in building your homes and feel free to comment here! Let's put our hard-hats on and get to building! May God receive all the glory!
HOUSE BUILDERS
commitment to the Lord
fear of God
prayer
love
respect for husband
self sacrifice
hard work
home cooked meals
clean laundry
cleanliness and order
peace
loving responses
serving others
scripture memorization
accountability
HOUSE DESTROYERS
selfishness
laziness
harsh words
disrespect to husband
disobedience to God
not spending time in God's word
refusing to communicate
junk food
too much TV
failing to train and nurture our children
the world's wisdom
unforgiveness
lies
gossip
immaturity
What can you add to these lists?
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