How a Wise Woman Builds Her Home: Proverbs 14:1

Looking at Proverbs 14:1, we are going to learn about the qualities of a wise woman and how she builds her home.

As women, we want to be excellent wives and loving mothers. We want to create a lovely home filled with laughter and love. Sometimes it is hard to be intentional about our home when we have long to-do lists and other thoughts occupying our mental space. So let’s take a second to look at Proverbs 14:1 and Proverbs 31 to examine the qualities of a wise woman and how she builds her home.

Lady Wisdom and Madam Folly- Proverbs 8

Before we dive into the qualities of a wise woman, I want to touch briefly on Proverbs 8. This bible passage discusses a literary personification of God’s own wisdom through Lady Wisdom. Lady Wisdom is portrayed as a woman who guides and makes us succeed, teaching us that wisdom works with the creator. She shows us that we need to work with God and invite Him into our life fully, to receive direction and guidance. A wise woman iisin partnership with the Lord. Without him, she would have no sincere wisdom. 

This passage also describes Madam Folly, who in contrast to Lady Wisdom, will destroy what she has. Folly sits in the highest place in the city, thinking she has leadership and authority. She tries to invite people with the greatest need over with food that she stole and participate in what she offers. Madam Folly may receive satisfaction from her fake authority and foolish ways for a little bit, but Lady Wisdom receives satisfaction for her whole life. To connect Proverbs 14:1, the woman of wisdom builds her home on a solid foundation in God, while the woman of folly tears down her house.  

Qualities of a Wise Woman and How She Builds Her Home: Proverbs 14:1 and 31

There are many different qualities of a woman who builds her home with her hands. In Proverbs 31, there are many qualities that the wise woman is described. She has many talents and abilities. This is an example of everything a woman should strive to be, however, it does not have to be all at once. These qualities are hard work, fear of God, foresight, encouragement, care for others, wisdom in handling money, respecting her husband, and many more. I believe that we need to pick a few of these and work hard at them. Then we can revisit the list and see where we need to improve. It would be impossible to have all of the qualities of this virtuous woman, at once. A few of the qualities that are high on my list are respect for the husband, fearing the Lord, and nurturing our children.

A Wise Women Building Her House Should:

Fear the Lord

Proverbs 3:7-8 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 

Proverbs 9:10 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 9:10 says that we need to fear the Lord first. Fearing the Lord means we want to respect Him. We chose to. If we love Him enough to respect God, then obeying will come naturally. When we fear the Lord, wisdom will come. We have to be in partnership with the Lord to receive wisdom.  Being wise does not come without Jesus. 

A wise woman wants to respect and obey God. She declares him as God and the God of her life. A woman finds her wisdom in God and does not lean on her fleshly wisdom- for that will lead to evil. A wise woman builds her home by having a strong relationship with God. She sits in the word and prayer, finding ways to strengthen her relationship with Him. She studies the Word of God and puts him above all else. This will lead to dependence on the Lord who will guide her steps. 

The wise woman seeks her wisdom by following God’s word. Following God’s way of life and his commands instead of finding her way to live her life. She searches for biblical truths instead of earthly truths. This will keep her on the path that God wants for her. She believes in God’s will and trusts that he will deliver. 

A wise woman seeks spiritual insight when she needs has a question or needs guidance. She will trust the will of God. By having a stronger relationship with the Lord, and fearing him, that in return will equip her to build her house on His solid foundation. She builds her house on the rock, the rock of God, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. From there, she may build a strong home.

Respect Her Husband

Ephesians 5:33. However, each of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. 

Paul is saying that a wife must respect her husband. Showing respect can mean many different things to different people. As a result, let’s look at how Jesus respected people. Jesus showed respect by serving the poor. He was humble and gentle and never looked down on people. We must respect our husbands by treating them in a way that honors God. Our husbands were made in the image of God. We need to show them sincere love. Respecting our husbands does not mean never speaking up, however. We may point out any sin in which our spouse is participating and discuss it. However, be respectful in the discussion and approach. 

Nurture her Children

Ephesians 6: 1-4: As for parents, don’t provoke your children to anger, but raise them with discipline and instruction about the Lord.

Proverbs 31: When it snows, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are wrapped in scarlet. 

Nurturing your child happens in more than one way. A good mom disciplines and cares for her children. 

In Ephesians, Paul is saying that nurturing means discipline. This means to strengthen, purify, train, and correct your children. Point your children to the Lord and his commands and desires of how believers should live and act. 

In the Proverbs 31 example, this means showing love and care to her household and children. She has them protected against the harsh elements of winter. This could also symbolize protecting our children and caring for their needs. This is showing them God’s love, and she is respecting what God has blessed her with. 

How a Foolish Women Destroys Her Home

Proverbs 14:1 But the foolish tears it down with her own hands. 

This passage of scripture is so vivid. It shows a disheartening picture of a once-good mother and good wife now turned foolish, tearing down her own house that she once built. It is scary to think that we, as women and mothers, can tear our houses down. By our own actions, we can destroy the home that we have worked so hard towards. Now, what does a home of a foolish woman look like? 

The home of a foolish woman represents all of the desires of this world. The home is not built on a foundation of God. The woman does not rely on God or have a relationship with Him. She feeds into her fleshly desires. Her foolish ways are those of jealousy, dishonesty, disobedience to God and her husband, disrespect, and negligence.

These foolish ways do not happen all at once though. It starts with small sins daily. That then leads to destructive habits, such as adultery, lying, and disrespecting the family. This turns the house into a house of Folly. The home of foolish women has no place for God. She does not turn to God in her mess but rather runs from Him to make an even bigger mess. The only way to clean up her destructive habits is to come back to the Lord and build a stronger foundation and fear Him. 

We want to not tear our house down with our own hands. How do we not let our human feelings take over our life and lead to destruction? Here is an example of how not to let our feelings turn to sin and become destructive.

My Encouragement to All Mothers and Wives:

Take a look at what your house is built on. It is never too late to rebuild the foundation. Is the foundation standing on God’s word? Are you in partnership with God? 

I encourage you to take a look at your relationship with God. Are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life and building your house on Godly principles or what this world tells us is important? Ask God for the power of the Holy Spirit to be in your home. He will guide you and impart wisdom to you if you want to obey and respect Christ Jesus. Let your good work lead you to build your relationship with God, then build your home upon that.