WISE OR FOOLISH, PART 1

“Every wise woman buildeth her house,
but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands”
(Proverbs 14:1).

The Bible speaks a lot about the wise woman and the foolish woman. It’s a good idea to check how we are making out, isn’t it?

CHECK NO.1 

Proverbs 14:1 says the wise woman builds her home, but the foolish tears it down by her own efforts. Stable homes, where God’s love and peace reign, do not automatically happen. They are built by wise women— women who are prepared to work hard to make their home a habitation for God and for their family. They know it is their highest calling. 

The wise woman knows that she is the heart of her home. When the heart stops beating, the person dies. When the mother’s heart stops beating in her home, that home begins to fall apart. 

This woman knows that it takes more than the feeling of love to build a marriage. It is commitment to a covenant, irrespective of change or circumstances. She knows that it takes more than giving birth to raise a godly child. 

She recognizes that her power and influence as a builder will not only affect her family, but the nation. The children that come forth from her home will affect many lives, for good or bad. But her vision is greater than the now. She knows she is building into the generations to come so she is careful how she builds. Her influence is far reaching. 

CHECK NO. 2 

The Hebrew word for building our home is banah. Not only does it mean “to build up and to repair” but also “to bring about increase in offspring.” The wise woman knows that having children is part of building a home that will affect the destiny of her nation. 

The wise woman does not reject her divine mandate to bring forth children for God’s eternal kingdom. She is aware that the power of her mothering will continue into the eons of eternity. Children are not burdens, but eternal souls who will live forever.  

The foolish woman is not concerned with God’s plan but rather her own plans. She would rather fulfil her own career, which will probably be burnt up one day when our works are tried by fire at the Judgment Seat. She doesn’t want to get her hands dirty, changing babies’ diapers and doing mundane home tasks. She is not aware that she is exchanging an eternal career for a passing earthly one.  

CHECK NO. 3 

A wise woman is a hard worker. Proverbs 31:17, 27 (TLB) says “She is energetic, a hard worker . . . she works far into the night! She sews for the poor and generously gives to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household, for she has made warm clothes for all of them. She also upholsters with finest tapestry; her own clothing is beautifully made . . . She watches carefully all that goes on throughout her household and is never lazy.” 

She is not afraid of housework and the commitment of mothering. She knows that the Bible tells her to be a “worker at home” (Titus 2:5). She opens her home to hospitality and ministers to those in need. Read Acts 9:36-42 and 1 Timothy 5:10. If she has extra time, she uses her talents to make commodities which she can sell to help with family finances. She never wastes time sitting around watching a “soap” on TV. 

CHECK NO. 4

A wise woman is rooted in her home whereas the feet of the foolish woman never stay at home. Proverbs 7:11 says: “Her feet abide not in her house.” Because she hasn’t got a vision for her home and doesn’t understand God’s purposes, she finds home boring. Read Psalm 127.3 and 1 Timothy 5:11-15.  

It is interesting that God calls the wife and mother a “vine,” planted within the heart of her home. A vine can extend its branches out over the wall. A mother can also touch many lives outside her home, especially as she reaches out to those who are in need, but she knows where her roots are. She keeps her roots strongly embedded in the vision of her home. Her home is an exciting hub where everything is happening. It’s too exciting to vacate! Of course, that depends on her making exciting.

We all have the opportunity to make our homes what we want them to be.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father God, I thank You that Your plan is for the mother to be in the heart of the home. Please help me to embrace Your truth with all of my heart. Show me how to make my home the most desirable, delightful, and dearest place on earth to my husband, my family, and myself. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am a happy mother and homemaker.