The Bread of Idleness
“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness” (Proverbs 31:27)
From this verse, we learn that this woman was busy in her home and did not indulge in idleness.
Idleness means “Aversion to labor; reluctance to exertion either of body or mind; laziness; sloth; sulggishness.”
Did you know that part of Sodom and Gomorrah’s downfall was laziness? “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49).
America has an “abundance of idleness” because of our “fulness of bread.” Welfare has created an abundance of idleness. God’s Word tells us that those who don’t work, don’t eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Welfare encourages people to not work so they become idle. Women receive more money from the government (tax payers) by not being married or having a husband who doesn’t work. This is why big government is never the answer to culture’s problems.
Growing Mums shared this wisdom recently on Facebook: “I know the ‘hot mess mom’ is a popular acceptance in our culture but God calls us to take care of our households and our family- most importantly as though unto the Lord! (Proverbs 31:27, Colossians 3:23.) Our home IS our ministry! Of course sickness, new baby, et. can get us behind at times but don’t let those small seasons become your new normal. Be diligent, and consciously aim to keep order in your household! If busyness is a problem, prioritize! If laziness is a problem, repent and ask God for the grace to push through the desires of your flesh and to do as He has called us all to as mothers and wives all to the glory of Him.”
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23). As homemakers, you must not spend our days scrolling through social media or watching TV. Your children need you to be there, not distracted by things that don’t matter. They need your instruction, discipline, affection, attention, training, and discipling. They need you! They need you to pay attention to them when they speak. When you’re working around the home, let them help you. As they see your example of working hard, it will become second nature to them.
Laziness and idleness are easy and of the flesh, but they are destructive. Discipline yourself and learn to be a hard worker at home. If your mother taught you to do this, you are blessed! If she didn’t, you have the Spirit working mightily within you and are told that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you! Find a workable schedule for you, then consistently do it as unto the Lord. Your home is your workplace given to you by the Lord, and it’s good!
You don’t need to stay up on all of the bad news of the day. In fact, try to stay away from it and dwell on the good and lovely instead! Pray for our leaders and our country, and then trust God with your family. Work is a great way to forget worrying! Work is good for us. We were created to work, so work heartily, dear women.
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
Proverbs 10:4
14 thoughts on “The Bread of Idleness”
I do agree. Routine and schedules are good. Of course we have to be willing to be flexible with them, but just starting with 1 thing spurs you on to do the next and the next. Having done daily chores makes you feel good. Laziness leads to depression.
Praise GOD.
My soul needed this exhortation.
I had a baby 4 months ago, I was even praying GOD for direction.
To GOD be the Glory
When my mom moved in with us almost 10 yrs. ago, I overheard her on the phone with her cousin. She told her she had never seen such busy people in her life. There was just my husband, our dog, and me, plus her, of course. She said I was just like my Grandma, which was a huge compliment!
There is so much to do around here all the time, and things take me longer now because of an injury. When my husband calls to tell me he’s on his way home from work, I’m usually startled at the time!! I watch the local news in the early morning and then the TV is off for the day. No effort there, it’s 99% garbage.
I can’t imagine doing nothing but watch TV all day. That’s torture! Also, a tidy organized life makes everything run so much smoother, thus more enjoyable!
There’s a song from church that I often find myself singing while puttering around…’Find us ready, Lord, not standing still. Find us working and loving and doing your will…’
Was just talking to a man who is 50, and married a 20 year old Filipino woman, from the Philippines, , and the same dynamic continually plays out. American women are mostly conditioned from birth to reject male authority in the home, and they fall in love with these stupid dynamics from the media that don’t exist, like a man who is supposed to magically make them happy always, give them a palace, take them all over creation, and never ask them to work at all, just to sexually pleasure him, that’s it.
It’s utterly absurd.
A woman who is home taking care of her husband, children, and home, in that order of importance is never a lesson that girls in the past century have seen stressed by the media, schools, and tech companies, so they are unwittingly programmed to reject what they excel at and to go to school, get a job, rebel against their husbands, and refuse to have kids, decisions sure to lead to short and long term misery.
A man who isn’t respected by his wife, is definitely going to see his sexual opportunities dramatically reduced. A woman won’t submit to her husband sexually if she doesn’t submit to him in his authority as husband in other areas of the marriage.
The Bible is very clear, in 1 Cor 6, it says sleeping with prostitutes is a dreadful sin, and one which God abhors. 1 Cor 7 then follows with the remedy, by saying if a man can’t contain, get married, and it further commands wives not to defraud men sexually, so Satan doesn’t get an advantage.
However, in a society where men are universally faced with women who hate having children and hate obeying their husbands, where are the men driven? Are they not driven to whores?
Of course, no one is excused in falling into sexual sin. But, Solomon did say, oppression makes a wise man mad (crazy), and he will do things he ordinarily wouldn’t when confronted with oppression. It is oppression for a righteous man to be denied the lawful outlet of his sexual passions in marriage to a dutiful wife.
The question is, is women teaching men, refusing to obey their husbands in marriage, and practicing birth control every bit as bad as PROSTITUTION?!? And the answer is a resounding, YES!!
Because the former three are rejections of Gods spiritual order, and the latter is a rejection of Gods sexual order. However, I’m convinced prostitutes are going to heaven before women who teach men and women who defy Gods order for them in marriage, because the entire world and often the prostitute herself acknowledges what she does is a shameful disgrace, but, most in the world, and women teachers and defiant women in marriage think their antics are not only perfectly acceptable, but what God wants them to do. So, a woman teaching men or defying her husband in marriage is more dangerous to the church and marriage than a prostitute is.
This is such a fantastic lesson that I’ve been learning lately! As a child housework seemed like such a drudgery to my mother so I adopted the same attitude. God has been showing me though that work can be such a joy if I just change my attitude. I’ve recently realized that part of showing gratitude is taking care of the things we having been given by Him, not just saying “thank you”! I love the idea you shared about including our children in the work as well. My children are young so I still have time to make it a fun game for them! Thank you!
Thank you so very, very much for this wise and encouraging message, Lori. It was exactly what God has been convicting me of lately and He brought me here today to remind me of His will for my life – without question! I sometimes get into a motivation slump and pray for God’s vision and direction for my home, family, homeschool… then for eyes to see it and the strength to carry it out. I should know by now He answers prayers that align with His will. He has used your heart today to speak into mine His divine nuts and bolts plan for my day to day as a homeschooling, home keeping mother and wife. Even though I’m not surprised by His quick answer to recent prayers, I’m in reverent fear of His response to me – so clear and straightforward. Five children ages 15 down to 4, I see how quickly they grow up. Time with them and in this blessed role is a gift that must not be squandered. I’m so thankful for my work, I want to be found faithful and not slacking. I am deeply encouraged and moved out of my slump by Gods message to me delivered through you. Thank you again for your faithfulness in speaking truth. I’m so grateful!
Love,
Rebecca (Kansas, USA)
Thank you for always teaching truth! I am so blessed by your blog. I was reminded, that although I don’t spend much time on social media, and the time I do spend on my phone, I spend reading your blog, or a natural blog learning about babies, or catching up with friends/texting. But some days I do spend a considerable amount of time on my phone, it’s such a trap. So I need to prioritize my new baby first, and of course the house work.
I absolutely agree with everything in this post…thank you for this wisdom, Lori!!
I needed this. Thank you. ♥️
I should always be willing to work for my Savior, even in what the world deems foolish.
I have come to realize that the mundane chores of the day are such great opportunities for meditating on scripture, praying for people, singing, thinking of ways to better run the house, etc.
Because I’m on autopilot with the chores, my mind is free to think on good and deeper things—it is quite enriching!
There is blessing in the mundane!
Now, off to work I go! The dishes are calling my name! 🙂
My third baby just turned one this month. I homeschool and let my email account explode this last year. I just wasn’t able to sit on the computer and clean it out much and didn’t always have data on my phone to do this task while baby was napping. So I can unsubscribe from the news alerts? I only get Epoch Times, Infowars and FRCs Washington Week. But it feels like a full time job slogging through all the email. I also deactivated Twitter and am in the process of deactivating Facebook and Google. Time with my precious children and serving my husband are so much more important to me than getting bogged down with social media.
I enjoy keeping a clean and cozy home, baking bread, sewing, listening to music as I work, preparing healthy meals for our family, going for long walks and bike rides, reading, limiting news (PBS news hour and NPR are my favorite options), watching Masterpiece Theater shows. Love the peace and calm of home…mostly peace, since one family member is working full-time at home and another is completing high school classes on zoom and applying for college and scholarships. Sometimes our house feels pretty small, but as I frequently remind my husband, “We may be a little stir crazy right now from spending so much time at home, but this place will feel very small when our youngest son goes off to college next year.
Marvelous, however, NPR and PBS are illicit Communist operations and both are virulently anti-Christian. They both had me deceived once. They steal taxpayer money to lie to and brainwash taxpayers.
No where in the Constitution does it authorize the government to tax its citizens to support media friendly to the invisible government.
I’ve reviewed nearly all the prominent news sites over the last five years, and listed the ones to avoid and the ones that tell the truth.
Messanonews.com
Also, the schools and colleges are controlled by bankers, and it would be wise to avoid paying for indoctrination.
Your husband is lucky to have a wife who loves him and her home.
Very well said…this is truly a forum for true expressions
So this is way late. But I so needed to hear this. Just coming out of the first trimester exhaustion and I need to start cultivating a better work ethic now to get out of the sloth that became habit during those three months. Thanks for the nudge and encouragement!