It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
11 A person’s wisdom yields patience;
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dewon the grass.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin,
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
Fools, Rules, and Wives
We can be surrounded by all the creature comforts that the 21st century will allow, but that is nothing compared to the people with whom we share them. This century more than any other offers various forms of escape and indulgence. It is this lure that, I think, is leading to shallow lives of sensate obsession. We are forever like babies who want something nice in their mouths to chew on, but who think very little beyond the immediate circumstances in which we find ourselves. Rulers want us to consume. Spouses want to buy the latest gadget or make another material improvement. The pursuit of these things becomes an end in itself. Within the home especially, the role of a spouse is to pursue God. It is our role to be an inspiration and not to demand that we be inspired by beautiful things that just serve a secondary function. Let’s not be a nagging spouse, let’s be an inspirational one.
Questions
- When a person is offended what is the wise response?
- Describe in your own words what a nagging spouse is like?
- How much control does one really have over how their spouse turns out?
- How is God’s grace central to an harmonious home?
- How can you develop regular reflections of gratitude about your domestic life?
Plymothian 