Saturday, September 17, 2011

Proverbs 31 Challenge, Day 4

(16)She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.


I don't know why, but this verse got  me stuck for a little bit. Which is why I'm posting so late. Actually, I was going to use the weekend as an excuse, and not post at all, but I decided that this is a "challenge", afterall. So as you read this, please be aware that I kinda don't know what I'm saying. So, feel free to comment and tell me what you think. Even if you think that I'm dead wrong. ;)

Anyways, How many of you have seen a front yard, where the grass is around 3 feet tall, dead, and there are ginormous weeds about 2 feet tall, the hedges are taking over the house, the paint on the house is peeling, and the door looks as though it's made out of cardboard?

I have. In fact, there's one pretty similar right next door to us. And please don't take this the wrong way, but whenever I see a house like that, I immediately conclude that "Oh, a single guy must live there."

As I read this verse, I kept thinking about what it had to do with being a "Proverbs 31 woman"? And I think I've got kind of an idea now.

First off, let me start with what this meant back when it was written:
Back then, average houses didn't really have the gardens that we think of when we hear the word today. They were more practical. Instead, they had farming fields. And they'd grow crops for food. Both for them to eat, and for them to sell. So when it says that she "considered a field and bought it", it means that she thought ahead about what they would eat, and how they would survive financially.

Ok, so how does this all apply to us, who mostly don't farm(some of you might, but for us city folks...)?
Remember that house that I mentioned earlier? How the torn up, neglected outside of the house immediately draws the mind to a single guy? Maybe because it lacks feminity. While yes, not all of us are gardeners(I prefer to let my family do the digging, and I'll do the picking and smelling), never underestimate how far a simple pot of flowers next to the door and a welcome mat goes.

Also, when you have people over, what is the very first thing that they see? The outside of your house. And if it's in ruins, they're immediately going to assume that either you're too lazy to do anything about it, or you just simply don't care.

In speech, there's a basic rule that mostly everybody knows: When you walk into the room, you've got about 8 seconds to give the judges a good first impression, before you even begin speaking.

The same goes for your house. If what they see is sloppiness on the outside, they're immediately going to assume that the people on the inside are the same. Lazy, sloppy, and just don't care. How is this showing hospitality? How is this spreading a good name about your family? And remember, lots of people go past your house without even going in.

So my overall message is this: People say that "It's what's on the inside that matters". But what's on the outside is important, too. You can have a gorgeous, perfect mansion of a house inside, but if the people who are walking by only see a sloppy outside, that's what they're going to assume the inside is like, too, and the people living there. Don't let that happen. Keep care of the outside. It doesn't have to be White-House perfect, but at least make people feel as though you care enough about them to put some effort into what they think of you.

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