A house and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a sensible wife is from the LORD. Proverbs 19:14
First, let's look at a few words and what they mean in this verse. Unlike yesterday's verse, 'house' in this verse refers to the actual building. And 'sensible' is sometimes replaced with the words 'prudent', 'understanding', or 'a wife with good sense'. A few synonyms of 'sensible' would be intelligent, rational, reasonable.
Would you consider yourself sensible? Would you consider yourself prudent? Have you ever been called a prude? I have. At first the 'accusation' stung a little bit. I didn't quite understand what the word meant. And the person who called me this didn't say it in a very flattering way. You can read all about that experience here.
According to dictionary.com, prudent means 'wise or judicious in practical affairs; discreet or careful', and a prude is 'a person who is excessively proper or modest in speech, conduct, dress, etc.' You see, society has turned this compliment into an insult, and all because we prudes disagree with their way of thinking. Yes, we disapprove of nudity in public; yes, we disapprove of excessive amounts of drinking and consuming drugs; yes, we disapprove of hundreds of love scenes played out in movies. According to Wikipedia, "In historical contrast, the word prude was originally a noble compliment. Traditionally, it was usually associated with wisdom, integrity, usefulness, and profit. Even in present day language, it forms the root of the word prudence, meaning "sound judgement in practical affairs"."
So if you have been labeled a prude, do not hang your head. Stand proud, and say thank you! You have come from the LORD!! Only the LORD can make you prudent, sensible, understanding, intelligent, rational, reasonable, and a wife with good sense! We can inherit many things from our earthly fathers - money, land, physical structures. Only the LORD can give us character like His own.
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