Just a glimpse...: Day 6: Idleness

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

Idleness. I tend to get a little defensive around this word. I guess because I grew up with parents that frowned upon idleness. It was such a terrible thing, it seemed, but did I even really know what the word means?

My Thesaurus says that idleness is inactivity, loafing, laziness, and sloth just to name a few.
Not very flattering terms, huh?

So, we are not to eat the bread of idleness. We are not to be inactive, a loafer, lazy, or slothful.
Easy enough, right?
Or is it?
Is it wrong for us to have a day every week where we just take it easy and enjoy being around our family? No. Even God rested on the 7th day of creation.

I think that being idle is when most of your time is spent doing nothing. Sitting around and watching TV or staying online all day isn't good. That would be idleness. Occasionally watching TV and getting on the computer (like you are right now while reading this!) is no problem at all. We need to be active in keeping up with our homes. I really don't think that overdoing it and running ourselves down is the idea, but keeping busy and avoiding laziness is a good idea.

But then again, the passage I am basing my 10 Days of Proverbs 31 on is Proverbs 31:27. It says "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat of the bread of idleness."

Two thoughts cross my mind:
1. That verse is a complete sentence.
2. Maybe it is a complete thought and both parts are related to one another.

So, we are supposed to watch over the affairs of our household AND not be lazy or idle about it.
What is the "it?"
The "it" is "watching over the affairs of your household." We need to keep at it. We need to continually be watching over the affairs of our home and not back down. This phenomenal woman that Proverbs 31 is describing watches over her home and is not lazy about it. She is actively watching over her home.
She doesn't back down.
She doesn't take a vacation from it.
She doesn't sit idly by and wait for things to happen before she acts.
She is proactive.
She is busy.
She is watching. Always.

It reminds me of what 1 Peter 5:8 says:

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

That gets me up on my feet! Let's not wait for the devil to take over our households. Lets be watchful like we are commanded. Let's watch over our precious homes and families and the affairs concerning them with diligence and not be lazy or idle.

But, can we do too much "watching" by ourselves and get run down?

More on that tomorrow......
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Check out these other blogs as well about 10 Days of Proverbs 31. Good times! Great information. Blessings all around.