The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.-Proverbs 14:1
To the women who are not quick to speak, but to build up, I commend you. I have no clue as to the depth of the pain you may be enduring. I understand how it is easier to draw people into the chaos you behold, observe, and experience for yourselves, and for you to choose to encourage yourself and others is no easy choice to make.
And it isn’t as if it’s all pleasant words that come out of your mouth, in your encouraging. No, oftentimes you build others up – well, you wise women build me up by way of rebuke, and it’s not coming from a position of lack and insecurity, but out of love amidst vulnerability. We as men pride ourselves as builders and gatekeepers, but this proverb clearly shows that it’s a joined effort of strong men and wise women. And on top of the great goal of a house established, in our building, we build each other. The wise become stronger, and the stronger become wiser.
It all stems down to the heart we’ve been given. Christ paid the ultimate price for all – men, and women – to die to the limited and dying reality, to be born again, with a new outlook on our physical bodies, our mindsets and perspectives removed from the foundation of sin leading to death, and re-established from the ground up, upon Christ – our Righteousness, and our Rock, on whom we stand.
By Christ, and by no other name do we build and unite.
And I suppose this is a well-timed word for us today, considering all that is happening around the world. At least from my point of view. See, in the past weeks we’ve had to send our condolences, and we’ve had to attend or conduct funeral services, for relatives of friends, and friends of relatives. We’ve seen how disaster can quickly strike by way of a fire hitting our local market, last weekend. I’ve seen too much on Social Media recently regarding how some banks are collapsing, and to be honest, some of that fear is rubbing off on me.
But again, it is through this one verse that I am eventually reminded of our purpose – that while we remain in this finite reality, we build. As men and women in the body of Christ, we build, in the midst of the chaos that is tearing the world apart. Just as we have been saved by the Shepherd, who is our Solution, so we present ourselves – our beings, and our actions, as living sacrifices, paying homage to Christ… that as we celebrate the Solution of solutions, we ourselves would not be part of the world’s problems, but we would choose to build in the chaos.
In this environment where everyone online and offline is working to tear us apart, Christ holds us together.
In this season of uncertainty and doubt, Christ is the solid Foundation.
At this time where the seemingly mighty are rendered vulnerable and fall, Christ is the Rock on whom we stand…
And Christ is the Rock on whom we build. He is the Rock on whom the wise woman builds, and He is the Rock on whom we build.
A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident.
A quick tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated.
-Proverbs 14:16-17
Wait, fear?
Well, I suppose I’d reconcile this by way of recognizing where it also says in the Proverbs, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As it turns out I came to the point of interpreting the fear of the Lord as saying that God is who He says He is.
So I guess in light of that, I’d go back to this set of verses and say that the man made wise by Christ sees things for what they are, and would depart from evil.
Wait, evil?
Well, sure. Not necessarily anything ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ according to our standards (though there really isn’t anything wrong with that, considering that it’s at least a good baseline to help our perspectives), but the opposite of the said fear: Anything that denies or goes against the Truth of God and who He says He is.
That was pretty deep there but I’d rather we go to the rest of the verse so we have a picture of the said evil. It’s an evil that fools revel in – The same fools that vehemently and intentionally say, ‘There is no God’. It’s an evil that results in rage, fueled and blinded by self-confidence, or rather, self-righteousness. Pride. This is evil that makes people so short-fused and impulsive in their actions, unaware of the short and long-term consequences of their actions… It’s a Godless evil that only works wickedness, from wicked intentions.
And as I like to do frequently, I look at the other side of the coin. The wise woman builds, and the wise man is strong – because he believes that God is who He says He is. He is strong, because he departs from evil, knowing he is in Who is good, and that is, Christ. And it’s because of Christ in the wise man, and it’s because the wise man celebrates his union with Christ, that he is not quick to anger. He knows his place, and understands that it’s not by his works, but by Christ’s finished work that He is righteous… in fact, even in the times he may not be aware of this Truth that applies to him, it’s by the Spirit that he is constantly convicted of his righteousness.
As such, he does not act impulsively, but we see how he moves in verse 15 – He is by no means simple. He is actually prudent, and he considers well his steps. And just as Christ established His intentions upon him, so his own intentions, flawed as they may be, are made righteous by Christ.
Christ paid the price for us to move in perfect love, and always within His righteousness. Because of His finished work, we are learning by default, no longer remaining as foolish. Our confidence is in Christ, and no longer upon our own efforts. We have been made prudent, and we have been brought to everlasting peace, by the Prince of Peace – as such, we are more careful with our words and actions. And it’s all rooted in our celebration of the Truth – that God is good and great, and this has been proven by no other than Christ, and His finished work.
Father, thank You for today. Thank You for reminding us, amidst all that is going on, that You have built us up to build, and that You have made us righteous to proclaim Your righteousness. We thank You for Christ, who by His finished work, made this all a reality for us. You are worthy of all praise and glory, and we thank You for who You say You are. Thank You, Father. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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