HOW TO TEAR YOUR HOUSE DOWN

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“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” (Proverbs 14:1 NIV)

Foolishness will tear down your house.  Webster’s Dictionary of 1828 defines foolish: void of understanding or sound judgment;  unwise; imprudent; acting without judgment or discretion in particular things, silly; vain; trifling.  The hard truth is, we’ve all been foolish at some point in our lives.  We’ve rushed into a situation without completely understanding it. We’ve made a poor decision because we didn’t have all the facts.  There are times we’ve not been discreet, or picked a fight over something silly. None of these things will build a house, they only tear it down.  But with God’s grace and mercy, we can learn wisdom. A foolish person tears down the house, but wisdom builds it.

A foolish person tears down the house, but wisdom builds it.

The house in this verse is a representation of the relationships inside of it.  A wise woman knows how to create a home that her family wants to be in. A foolish woman creates a home no one wants to be in.

My mother was a wise woman.  She created an environment in our home where my siblings and I wanted to be, not only us, but our friends.  Our house was the neighborhood hang out when we were kids. When we grew into adults, we still wanted to hang out at home when given the chance.  This isn’t to say we didn’t have our issues, every family has issues. But even with our issues, we still wanted to be in her home.

A lot of the friends that came to our house did not want to be in their home.  Their parents were constantly fighting. The fighting would eventually involve the children.  There was no peace in their home, only strife. Each argument tore down their family home a little bit more.  Not because they argued, but because they never resolved the arguments. Instead of working towards peace, they worked towards strife.  Foolishness, as described above, creates strife. Strife does not build a home, only destroys it.

My mother was a wise woman because she followed Jesus.  The wisdom she had came from doing what Jesus did. She studied the Scriptures and she believed their truth.  She applied what God’s word said to her life and did it. Her wisdom wasn’t her own, her wisdom came from God.

We all have access to God’s wisdom.   When we place our faith in Jesus, then follow His lead, it is the wisest choice we can make.  When we read God’s word and get to know Jesus better, we will become wiser. We will be able to build homes where our children will want to be.  A foolish person tears down their house, but a wise person builds it.

Question of the Day:

What is one thing you can do to build your house today?

Further Reading: Judges 2:10-3:31NIV, Luke 22:14-34 NIV, Psalm 92:1-93:5 NIV, Proverbs 14:1-2 NIV

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