A WIFE WHO IS A BLESSING

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. 
A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof. 

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.

Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

Proverbs 12:4, 18:22, 19:13, 19:14, 21:9, 21:19

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s hard to believe but in a few short weeks, I will have been married to my wife “Amazing” Grace for 21 years. There’s so many things I could say about her, too many for this devotion to hold, and so I will frame my compliments around five proverbs that highlight the qualities of a wife who is a blessing and one who is not.

Let’s start with proverb 1.

1. A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. Proverbs 12:4

Is there anything more important than a person’s character?

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said this:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Indeed, this amazing man of the Lord knew what really mattered in a person. We shouldn’t judge by color or gender or size or stature but rather by character, by the integrity one has on the inside that positively impacts their actions on the outside.

Solomon asserts that a husband will feel like he’s a king when he has a wife of noble character, a character that comes when a wife makes the Lord the Lord of her life. I can attest that this is truth for Grace, a strong Christian and woman of faith, always makes me feel like I am on top of the world. She is truly a wife who is a blessing and there are few women (or men for that matter) that I have met who have her level of honesty, compassion, patience, and temperament.

Now let’s say that I wasn’t careful about who I married? What could happen if I chose to marry a woman who was not of noble character and of the Lord?

Well, it would be bad. For Solomon goes onto say that a wife who acts disgracefully, bring discredit upon herself and her husband will not be a crown but rather a debilitating affliction for the man she is married to, like a decay in her husband’s bones. God’s word is warning us here, warning us that there are consequences for not marrying a woman of noble character and opting for a woman who chooses to live in sin and wickedness.

2. A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof. Proverbs 19:13

Ever been in a place where the roof leaks? It’s an annoyance and the more it leaks the worse the problem gets. Until the leak is fixed, it will continue to drip until it ruins the place it drips into and even then, it will continue to drip.

A wife who is far from a blessing will be one who always likes to quarrel and stir up conflict in the marital relationship. There is never peace because she won’t let it get a foothold. She takes great pleasure in instigating strife and discord, bringing misery on her husband and eventually eroding the marriage through her consistent and persistent destructive attitude, just like the dripping water from the leaky roof will destroy the structure it leaks into.

Conversely, a wife who is a blessing consistently seeks to communicate and work out matters when there are points of disagreement. She, like my Grace, will choose to focus on the only One who will always show us the perfect way to peace in the midst of our clashes, the Prince of peace who enters in when invited to help mediate through differences.

3. Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. Proverbs 21:9

    Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. Proverbs 21:19

I’ve never met anyone who has told me they would like to live on a roof. Ditto for the desert.

Just imagine what it would be like. Never under cover but always exposed to the elements. If it rains, you’re getting wet but that would mostly be on the roof because in the desert you would be hard pressed to find any moisture. It’s just plain hot and you have no air conditioning. You don’t have that on the roof either and if it gets cold where you live, then good luck because you don’t have heat. In either venue, you would live with no privacy and it would have to be hard to get any rest. In the end, I think you would end up wishing you could live anywhere else but on that roof or in the desert.

Solomon compares living like this to a husband who has a quarrelsome wife. In the midst of constant turmoil, it has to feel to the husband that there is no shelter from the argumentative tendency of his spouse. Consistently and persistently exposed to that element, the husband, like living on the roof or in the desert, can get to where they would rather live anywhere else but with their wife. This is a wife who does not bless but rather curses their husband.

On the other hand, a wife like Grace, who never looks to pick a fight, is a delight to live with. There’s security and contentment residing with her as she blesses with her tranquil, non-confrontational demeanor. This is the kind of wife you never tire living with. This is the kind of wife who is a gift from God. And this leads to the final proverb and point.

4. Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord. Proverbs 19:14

Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “Hey Mark. Where do I find a wife like Grace?”

There’s only one answer. You find a wife like that only when you go to the Lord.

Scripture tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17) and that includes a wife of noble character and prudence. Turn to Him, ask for the blessing of a wife who will partner with you to live in righteousness and holiness and He will deliver. No one else can do this for you. Not your friend. Not your family. Not anyone of those dating services who promise to hook you up with your perfect mate.

As we find in all other matters of life, we only find our way to treasures when we turn to the One who provides them and allows us to not only enjoy the best this life can bring but grants us a ticket to the best life ever, the life those who believe in Jesus will receive when this earthly life is over.

This is the life that buoys me up with hope, the life I can’t wait to share with the wife the Lord has given me, the wife who is such a blessing.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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