There is wisdom in reading and applying Proverbs to our daily living as wives.
My heart’s desire is to know God, to love Him more deeply, and to walk in a manner worthy of my calling. I hope that for you, reader, also (if you are reading Glory Books, you would probably say the same thing). The book of Proverbs gives us practical advice and applications.
This article is the first in a series from Proverbs called “Wisdom for Wives Through the Proverbs.”
Choosing Wisely
Even if we desire to be godly wives, there are challenges for us wives in today’s society to fit in and be like others — to have what they have, act like they act, and live as they live. As a Christian wife, desiring to be found worthy, we need wisdom to make good choices.
We wives desire to be happy. After all, when our knight in shining armor scooped us up on his white horse and carried us to his castle on the hill, we were to live happy ever after. That’s how the story goes. We want to be happy.
I am reminded of a woman who makes a choice to be happy (“Happiness,” author unknown):
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.
“I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room … just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied.
“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged…it’s how I arrange my mind.
I have already decided to love…It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away…just for this time in my life.”
A sweet story of choosing wisely…We wives tend to let our focus roam to what others have or what others do — how another woman’s husband treats his wife or how another wife seems to be able to “get her way.” We tend to choose so we fit into a crowd that, as Christians, we don’t fit.
We need God’s wisdom to keep our focus on things above and not things of this earth. It is a choice we make daily to keep our eyes on Jesus and choose to be happy in our marriage.
Practical Ideas for Choosing Wisely
Proverbs gives us many practical ideas for keeping our focus on the good, the clean, and the pure:
1. Make a choice to read God’s Word each morning.
I have suggested we lay our Bibles open on the kitchen table where we can easily read as we enter that room. Open It to whatever you want to read, and leave it there. That makes it easy to do as you enter.
“…know wisdom and instruction…” (Proverbs 1:2).
2. Make a choice to walk wisely.
Stay away from places of temptation and people who cause you to think sinfully.
”don’t walk in the way with them…” (Proverbs 1:15).
3. Make a choice to seek friends of like-mindedness.
Attend a women’s Bible study or a Titus Two group and do the assignments even if you don’t finish; do what you can.
”…wisdom calls out in the streets” (Proverbs 1:20).
4. Make a choice to listen to instructions, and bless the Lord at all times.
It is helpful to listen to Christian music and sing along.
”…whoever listens to me will dwell secure …” (Proverbs 1:33).
I enjoy your comments about the choices you have made to be faithful to your faith and to be faithful to your husband. It is worth all the hard work you put in.
As I look around, I don’t see many older couples smiling kindly at each other, holding hands, or occasionally giving a little smooch. I want to grow older more in love with Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior, and I want to have a happy marriage, God’s way.
Enjoy.
“Knowledge consists of knowing that a tomato is a fruit, and wisdom consists of not putting it in a fruit salad” wrote Miles Kington (1941-2008) in the March 28, 2003, The Independent (UK).
