“A foolish son is the ruin of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping” (Proverbs 19:13).
Two of the hardest blows to a man’s soul can come from within his own home.
His children—to whom a father has diligently sought to give the invaluable gift of a good name (Prov. 22:1)—can foolishly tarnish their father’s carefully nurtured heritage. Sin is a reproach to any people (Prov. 13:34); it is especially harsh to a foolish child’s parents (Prov. 10:1; 15:20; 17:21, 25). The sins of a child can ruin a man financially, emotionally, even physically. The weight and impact of the spiritual distress of their folly is incalculable. Several decades ago, I watched a conscientious father’s appearance age at least ten years in a twelve-month period. The emotional stress and grief of his grown son’s sinful ways could be clearly seen.
A wife who is the antithesis of a godly woman with a meek and quiet spirit is the bane of her husband. God Himself says a husband is better off alone in a corner of his roof (Prov. 21:9) or living among the wild beasts of the wilderness (Prov. 21:19) than in the battlefront his wife makes their home to be. An incessant faultfinder, ever combative, always unhappy, and never contented wife is a highly effective domestic torturer. She is a persistent irritant who bypasses the opportunity to make her home a small slice of heaven so she can set it ablaze with the inferno of her constant sniping and complaining.
A godly and prudent wife is an immense blessing (Prov. 19:14). Wise and godly children are also.
May their tribe ever increase.
