Affairs of My Household

 Since the last post, Proverbs 31:27 keeps coming to my thoughts a lot.

"She watches over the affairs of her household."

What are 'the affairs of my household'? Well, obviously, the cooking, cleaning, laundry, chores, school, sports, haircuts, clothes & grocery shopping, appointments... the list is endless! Lots of organizing, preparing, & planning schedules & routines to make sure life runs as smoothly as possible for everyone. It's all a lot of hard work! But, is that all it means to 'watch over the affairs of my household'? Yes....well, wait! Maybe...no?!?! We get so wrapped up in daily life its easy to forget there's a bigger, greater, more divine purpose in daily tasks of  'doing life'.

Paul tells us to live life by the Spirit. What does that look like? Or, what it is NOT. Paul wrote in Galations 5:19-21 

" The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness orgies, and the like." 

If you're like me, you're thinking, "That's some harsh stuff! I don't have half that stuff going on under my roof & if I did, there'd better be a change made. Pronto! Now! Immediately! Get out & be gone!!

Let me gently say, if you know there's sexual immorality, impurity & debauchery, witchcraft, drunkenness, orgies & the like going on in your household, find help. Do all you can to remove yourself & your precious innocent loved ones from such goings on & do it promptly.

Now let's look at the other things. Discord is defined by Websters New World Dictionary as a disagreement, a harsh noise. So, a loud arguement. 

Yikes! We have those occasionally. 

Dissension is defined as a disagreement, and faction is defined as dissension. 

Note how Paul wrote "faction AND envy" instead of "faction, (comma) envy", as if they were a seperate item on a list. Faction is also defined as "a group of people working together against a main body". Is it safe to assume that faction & envy are related? I believe so! 

Just think how quickly a seed of envy in just one person's heart can spread & turn into a revolution of hatred. Hatred stems from discord, dissension, faction, jealousy & the like. 

Just this morning we had a loud arguement between siblings. Let's call it what it is- dissension, faction, discord. Without wise intervention & discernment from a parent, such things could easily turn into hatred. Yikes!!

Jealousy is closely related to envy. Jealousy is also defines as resentfulness. Sometimes I resent others for what they have. But not just others. Sometimes I resent that my husband gets to leave the house every day to go to work, hunting, or some other activity thats not necessarily IN the home, but definately FOR the home. I know he feels it & worse, my kids pick up on it. Another 'Yikes!'

Fits of rage is a scary picture. A fit is a sudden uncontrolable attack or outburst. Rage is furious, uncontrolled, violent anger. So a fit of rage is a sudden uncontrolled outburst of furious uncontrolled violent anger. I've never seen a literal fit of rage, but I've displayed anger in a loud voice. To me, that's too close to a fit of rage to be dismissed.

Are these things affairs of my household?

Sadly, yes.

I have to work on omitting these things from my home daily. Not just in my children, but first & foremost, in myself. I'm the one they learned it from. Ouch. 

I have a sinful nature & its obvious, as Paul wrote. But, praise the Lord, that's not all! I also have His grace! My legacy doesn't have to end with my sinful self. Halleluja!!!

Through Jesus you & I have been given "divine power to demolish strongholds" (2Cor.10:3-5) and put on the fruits of the Spirit- "love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." (Gal 5:22-23)

Today I'm convicted that THE AFFAIRS OF MY HOUSEHOLD ARE SO CLOSELY RELATED TO THE AFFAIRS OF MY HEART, THAT I CANNOT SEPERATE THEM.

Join me in prayer, dear one! Let's, with faithful feet & linked arms pray for one another & stand strong against the enemy's scheme to inch his way into our hearts & homes.

Lord,

I come before you, humbled & repentant. I give you the affairs of my heart. Take my bad attitudes, dissension, envy, jealousy, fits of rage (fill in the blank)________________. I lay them at your feet. I don't want them anymore.

Father, thank you for Your total forgiveness! Strengthen my resolve to be strong in You, Lord. Today I put on Your full armor to stand against the enemy's shemes & to demolish strongholds in Jesus' name. From this moment forward help me to display only love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control in my words & actions toward my husband & children. Where my attitudes have overflowed, impacted & hurt them, bring total reconciliation, forgiveness, & healing.

Lord, as I go now to watch over the affairs of my household, be with me to strengthen & remind me to first watch over the affairs of my heart.

Amen.

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