A woman will either be a blessing or a curse to her household: she is either building or demolishing according to Proverbs 14:1. The woman who has wisdom is constructing; the foolish woman who has no wisdom is destroying. There doesn’t appear to be a middle road; a woman is doing one thing or the other. The one results in peace and blessing; the other brings confusion and discord. The home will either be growing in beauty or on its way to becoming a heap of rubble.

What is it that makes the difference? The presence or absence of wisdom in the person given the responsibility of managing the home, and that is the woman. So where do we get this indispensable wisdom and what is it exactly? We know that the prerequisite for wisdom is the fear of the Lord. A God-fearing woman is teachable and receptive to godly instruction.

Little girls have their eyes on their role models. They are closely watching the examples set before them by their mothers, grandmothers, big sisters, or other women in their lives. If they are paying attention to their instruction, this will, by the grace of God, develop into a good understanding. And that, in turn, ripens into a godly judgment and prudence which we can call wisdom.

Wise women see the potential consequences of their behavior, so they make good choices, even (or especially) when those choices run against the fleshly grain. They have the good sense to see how things they do and say affect others. They weigh their actions against the biblical standard and seek to please God, not themselves.

And wisdom is eager to put things right when others have been wronged. No woman on earth, wise or not, is going to make it through a day without sinning. Wisdom loves to repent and is eager to extend forgiveness to others. A little godly wisdom goes a long way toward building a house, and a little foolishness slows the construction process down. Wisdom has an eye on the big picture and keeps oversight on the progress.

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