P.S. please forgive all the funky fonts -- blogger and word apparently do not get along. i try to fix it as I catch it but sometimes it jumps right back to the weird stuff.
See verse 26 here.
Proverb31:27
She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness..
Character Traits:
carefully watches, not lazy
Character Trait:
I’ve gotten the point about not being lazy. I don’t think this woman knows the definition of that word even. So I’m going to focus on the watching part – being a good steward of her household.
Definition:
--the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care
Verses in the Bible about it:
Psalm 50:10-12
For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.
1 Corinthians 4:2
Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.
Matthew 25: 14-30
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
1 Peter 4:10
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
1 Corinthians 9:17
If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust.
Lamentations 3:40
Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.
Romans 12:8
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Summary:
It seems clear that God expects us to take care in whatever he entrusts to us – whether that be millions of dollars, a household, or precious little lives. He has given us the guidelines and expects us to be trustworthy and hardworking, recognizing that it all comes from His hand and one day we will account for how it was handled.
Conclusion for this verse:
Once again, there is a picture of a woman who not only refuses to be lazy, but is diligent in keeping watch over every aspect of her household. The fact that this is stated so many times and in so many ways makes me think that this must not only be a major temptation to anyone in charge of a family but also that it is one that is easy to fall victim too. In this day and age of two income families, I would imagine that it is even more of a temptation to let things slide, particularly where children are concerned. But, these verses seem to remind us that we need to examine our priorities and make an effort to keep the important things on top of the list.
Comments:
I am the queen of excuses when it comes to being diligent to watch over what is happening in our home. I need to learn to be more purposeful in getting involved and staying that way. Accounting for how I have spent these moments that are gone forever is a scary thought indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment