"A wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands a foolish woman tears hers down." ~Proverbs 14:1
Our "house" is our inner and outer sanctuaries; our physical bodies and our souls. So how does the wise woman build her house?
First, she must lay the foundation of her inner sanctuary through the implementation and practice of the "Five Spiritual Disciplines." These five disciplines can be found on this site, under the header, "Garden Tools."
Through daily practice and implementation of these spiritual disciplines, she can then begin to decorate the interior of her home with the Fruit of the Spirit. This Fruit is listed on this site, under the header, "Garden Tools. "The more submitted the heart, the more transformation and sanctification will take place.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." ~2 Corinthians 5:17
“But we have the mind of Christ and do hold the thoughts, feelings, and purposes, of His Heart.” ~1 Corinthians 2:16
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” ~Ezekiel 36:36
You might wonder, if we are new creations in Christ; with a new heart, the Spirit and Mind of Christ, and God is working in us to direct our will, what needs to be sanctified? "Sanctify" means to "set apart as Holy." The answer is, our physical body and our soul. The soul is comprised of our thoughts, our emotions and our will. God is at work directing our will but we still have the freedom to submit or to rebel in each decision and choice we face.
“For it is God Who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” ~Philippians 2:13
The moment we receive the Holy Spirit, we do not fully become that new creation in every part of ourselves. We still have unhealed areas, we harbor unforgiveness, and we have ungodly thoughts and mindsets. Sanctification and transformation is a lifetime process that will not reach culmination until we see Jesus face to face and receive our Glorified bodies.
"Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as He is pure." ~1 John 3:2-3
Although our physical bodies will continue to age and decay, the wise woman will also build her body because, her body belongs to Christ; it is the Temple for the indwelling Holy Spirit of Christ and we are to be "good stewards" of all that God entrusts to us.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, whom you have received from God? you are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." ~1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Some of the basic steps in building our bodies and setting them apart as Holy are: proper nutrition, adequate rest, stress management, regular exercise, a balanced lifestyle of work and play and avoiding the sins of sexual immorality.
"You were bought with a price, with the precious blood of Jesus. So then, honor and glorify God with your body." ~1 Corinthians 6:20
Now, let’s look at the practical application of some of the ways a foolish woman tears down her house:
LACK OF INTIMACY WITH GOD
UNFORGIVENESS
DECEPTION
UNHEALTHY/ABUSIVE/DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
ADDICTIONS
UNHEALTHY DIET
INADEQUATE REST/POOR STRESS MANAGEMENT
NO EXERCISE
THE FOOLISH WOMAN HAS A LUKE-WARM WALK WITH GOD. Revelation 3:15-18, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one of the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of My Mouth.”
God chooses to hide His terror from us in order that we might choose Him from Love through our freedom and desire. Love requires a choice. This is why God put a the tree in the Garden. Without choosing to love, we are being forced to love and love can never be forced.
Many Christians become casually dismissive about God and can often render Him as insignificant in the overall scope of their lives and decision. It’s easy to do because His quiet Spirit dwells within us. He does not force Himself or His Will upon us; He speaks to us in His Still Small Voice, which is so easily drowned out in the noise and busyness of life.
God is slow to anger and abounding in Love so we can tend to place Him low on our priority list. This will create a luke warm heart and we will miss out on the most profound relationship we could ever have. I believe this breaks God's heart, for this is the very reason He created us; to love Him and be loved by Him.
THE FOOLISH WOMAN LIVES IN A LIFESTYLE OF REBELLION AND DEFIANCE.
We all sin daily in thought, word, and/or deed. Living in defiance or rebellion, however, is very different and God likens rebellion to witchcraft. This is a very alarming truth to ponder.
"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." ~1 Samuel 15:23
The Bible is not a buffet, pick and choose what we obey. There are people shackled to addiction. I’ve met a shocking number of men and women who profess themselves Christians but are fornicating, having sex outside of marriage and even living together. I’ve been single and celibate since 2012 because the "Christian" men I’ve gone on coffee or lunch dates with don’t want to honor their body or mine and they certainly are not honoring God.
Again, if we are to be in a submitted relationship with Christ and build, rather than, tear down our house, we must study and apply the Word of God to our lives on a regular basis. We must submit to Jesus, not to ourselves, not to our lusts, not to our fallen nature and most certainly not to the enemy.
So how do we know if we are building or tearing down our house?
“You will know them by the fruit they bear.” ~Matthew 7:16.
Are you bearing the Fruit of the Spirit in your life or are you bearing ungodly fruit? Time is running out, women of God. Let us build our houses, rather than tear them down and bring God all the Glory!