BUILDING A FAMILY
“Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:” Proverbs 24:3
We all are in the business of building. We are building a life, building a reputation, building a home, and even cooperating with God as He builds His churches. All of these are worthy ambitions, and to each of these ventures, the lessons we are discussing would apply. However, the primary application of this proverb would be BUILDING A FAMILY. This Scripture encourages us to consider things that are absolutely essential to building.
To build a family takes wisdom, and it takes work. “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established.” It takes wisdom to build. If a person sets out to build a house, it is very helpful if he has a set of plans in hand when he begins. Thankfully, God has given us a set of plans for building everything He would have us build. These plans are recorded in His Word, the Bible. We need His wisdom. Any time we are talking about relationships, we know that there are many factors to address. People can be fragile. Feelings can be hurt and trust can be damaged. Every person is different, with a different personality. We must always be consulting God for His wisdom and advice.
He gives us wisdom and understanding for building a marriage. Men and women do not have the same needs. We cannot expect our spouse to always think or feel the same way as we do about things. God also gives us wisdom for teaching and training our children. We dare not look to the world for its counsel on how to instruct and discipline children. We must go to the building manual, the Word of God. It takes wisdom to build, but it also takes work. Nothing is ever constructed without effort. Building can be a satisfying venture, but we must be willing to labor. If a person was planning to build a house, he might gather his materials on site and have the plans in hand, but that will not cause a house to appear. It takes a great deal of work.
Similarly, it takes much labor to build relationships and to build a family. We have to work at it, and it takes time. For some who may have started to build their lives with faulty plans, they now must try to correct what was begun wrong. It can be done, but it will take work, and it will take time. We must not grow weary in well doing. The result will be worth the effort.