Are You A Builder?

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the
foolish plucketh it down with her hands." Prov. 14:1 (KJV)

Do you remember the childhood game "Pick Up Sticks"? I would dump out that container of long, slender plastic sticks resembling skewers. The object of the game was to see how many sticks you could slide out of the pile, one-at-a-time, without moving another stick and without collapsing the pile. No matter how slowly and carefully I pulled out individual sticks, it was inevitable that I would collapse the pile, even though my goal was to win the game.

That old game paints a picture in my mind of what I will do to my home and family if I am not consciously building them up by God's wisdom rather than my own human wisdom. There have been many occasions (I hate to admit!) when I intended to build my home, but in reality, I was plucking down its walls, one stick at a time. There were times when I would insist on my own way because I believed my way was best. Thinking that I was laying a new brick in constructing my home, I was actually plucking an old one out of the foundation instead. My motives were impure and self-centered (ugh!). Maybe I had good intentions, but I was getting ahead of God's timing and just trying to manipulate the people around me so that they would get in line with what I felt God wanted in our life. I played a pretty good "Holy Spirit Assistant".

My good intentions to "build a house for Jesus" is quickly undermined when I "constructively" criticize my husband's efforts and always expect him to do better or be more spiritual. This type of "foolish plucking" is not "wise building" and will result in a sub-quality, dilapidated, poorly constructed structure. Disciplining my child in anger is one more sure way to pluck away at the home I am called upon to build.

What building blocks would be cemented solidly in place if instead of griping, we thanked our husband for all of his hard work and displayed a grateful and gracious attitude in our home? How strong would the walls be if we identified with our children's failures and came alongside them and acknowledged that we understand and struggle, too? How strong would our home become if we turned our frustrations and disappointments into prayers and petitions to God, choosing to love and OLAT (a saying in our home...OverLook A Transgression)?

Okay, now ladies, let's commit to memory these two important carpentry terms to be successful home constructionists! Ready? A wise woman BUILDS. A foolish woman PLUCKS.