Proverbs 31:27, "She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness."
To Watch
"To watch" means "to hedge about" as with thorns, much like a mother bird or animal might do to protect her young. The verb expresses the active guarding, protecting, saving, and attending to something precious. This kind of watching involves observation and preservation.
To better understand the significance of the word watch, consider its use in Psalm 5:3 -- My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up."
"To look up" is the same Hebrew word as watch. The psalmist carefully prays to God in the morning and then becomes a lookout, keeping watch, being on the lookout, expecting his prayer to be answered.
To Work
As we head into this section, let's realize that we're not addressing working outside the home at a job. No, this has to do with work you do inside the house, at home, the work that turns your house into a home.
We're going to be doing our own study into the Scripture, consulting it to learn what God teaches us about work. Of course we'll want to look at some wonderful proverbs!
Proverbs 10:4, "He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich."
Proverbs 12:11, "He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding."
Proverbs 14:23, "In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty."
Proverbs, 20:13, "Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty, open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread."
Proverbs 31:13, "She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands."
What a blessing you can be to your family as you watch, as you keep lookout over the various functions of the home. And what a great way to be a helper for your husband as you anticipate, perceive, and act on needs (work) in the home. Before your husband even thinks of something, you have taken care of it!
Yes, But How?
How can we place ourselves before God so He can grown in us hearts that effectively watch over our precious homes?
1. Understand that his role as helper and guard is God's plan for you.
A woman after God's own heart - married or not - watches over the ways of her household and refuses to eat the bread of idleness. When we realize that these instructions are from God -- and not from our mother, or husband, or Bible teacher -- we must allow the Truth of God's Word to penetrate into our hearts.
2. Begin watching over your home.
It's time to make some real -- and difficult -- decisions about watching (the positive) and about not eating the bread of idleness (the negative).
3. Eliminate idleness.
Identify the following time robbers in your daily life, and then purpose to buy back the time for watching and working in your precious home.
- Procrastination
- Inadequate personal planning and scheduling
- Interruptions by people without appointments (This includes interruptions by way of the telephone. And please note, your children are not interruptions -- they are your greatest work and the best investment of your time.)
- Failure to delegate
- Poor use of telephone or computer
- Reading junk mail or e-mail
- Lack of concern for good time management
- Unclear priorities
Ladies, we must pray for eyes to see the vision God has for our precious home and for hearts to understand how important what happens in our home is to Him. May our goal be that our houses be made into homes that show forth God's desires for the beauty and purpose of those structures.
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