Proverbs 3: 13-15
Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
Without wisdom, I am a fool: with God's wisdom I have understanding and discernment, and can gain His power to act on that wisdom. It's worth more than money, and it has more value than gold.
I'm thinking about Proverbs 14:1 that says, The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. This can refer to the tents the Israelites lived in in the desert. The wife would make a new panel each year, adding it to the front of the tent, and removing the oldest panel in the back. It can also refer to the "house" as the household, or family.
As I don't live in a tent, I would apply this principle to my family. As I look back I see all the harm I've done in my relationships with my own loved ones, like the foolish woman, tearing down my own "house" with my words.
My prayer is for the wisdom to repair the breaches and rebuild the broken-down walls of my family relationships. That I would guard my tongue to keep silence when I have no words of encouragement or helpfulness.
And may my Father put into my mouth and on my tongue those words of edification that will build up the self-esteem of my dear ones, repairing what has been damaged and helping them to realize how precious they really are, in God's eyes and in mine, as I see them the way He does.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
