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Wise Woman...

             The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down… Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people. (Psalm 14:1 & 34)

 

Both the verses above say the same thing. One sort of person does good, another sort of person does harm. They don’t say that the person who does harm is some master villain who gets a thrill out of doing evil. The person tearing down her own house, and the sin that condemns a people can seem and even be quite “innocent.” Allow me to reiterate my definitions for some of these words. Someone who is wise learns about and understands how things work. She works within reality. Someone who is foolish ignores how things actually work in favor of what he/she wants or wishes. Righteousness refers to living in a way that brings together and does good. Sin is living in a way that separates or does harm. Those aren’t the dictionary’s definitions and you may feel free to disagree with me, but for a moment, just consider. To a great extent, I haven’t said much beyond “those who follow the science do good, and those who don’t, don’t.”

The wise woman builds her walls with studs that are 16-24 inches apart - or hires someone who will. A foolish woman may choose to put in no studs. Has the foolish woman done something evil? No, she’s done something foolish. The foolish woman may choose to eat too many cookies, to place too much emphasis on finding a guy or being the perfect mother. Foolishness abounds in our lives. The point is that she does not work within the boundaries of the universe as God created it. She wants to have it her way. But while walls make look nicer without electrical plugs, electricity is useful.

The same is true of nations. A nation that does what is right is far more likely to succeed than a nation that says, “You can do whatever you want, and if someone doesn’t celebrate what you’re doing, you can sue them for so much that they will be destroyed.” A nation that sticks to 2+2=4 is more likely to succeed than one that says that 2+2=4 is a racist concept, so 2+2 might equal 1, or 2, or 22.

If you would be wise, stop fighting the universe. If you want your nation to endure, do what is according to Scripture.

 

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