Healthy Household Economies

March 24, 2022

Proverbs 17:1

Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifice with strife.

In the Old Testament era, the Jews would partake of part of what was sacrificed on the altar to God. Of course, the sacrifice was usually meat, like beef or mutton. What then is a household of sacrifice, but homes blessed with a great deal of meat taken from the sacrifices. These meat stuffed homes enjoyed more material wealth than the homes whose cupboards resembled Old Mother Hubbard’s. For most people, a dinner of meat beats a crust of bread just about any day! 

But what is it that really provides joy and contentment in a home? Is it wealth? Is it steaks on the barbecue, chocolate cream pies, or an indoor swimming pool? Peace is essential for happy homes. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14). 

Sometimes material wealth adds to the contention in the home, especially when people value money over relationships. How often do marriages break up over disagreements concerning finances? Of course, this is pure foolishness. It is a failure in priorities. It is a refusal to value the things that God values, such as peace and biblical conflict resolution. If necessary, we must be willing to sacrifice our wealth, our fast-paced lives, and our materialistic pursuits for the sake of peace and unity within the home. May God give us homes where men will confess their sins to their wives, where forgiveness flows all the time, where humility reigns, and where peace prevails!

Proverbs 17:2

A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causes shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. 

Generally, a biblical economy is a household economy. Large, centralized corporate systems are relatively new phenomena in the history of the world, and as they have come to dominate in the economy, they have almost completely eliminated household-based economies. The goal of this new economic system was to produce a centralized economy easily controlled and regulated by government. The word “economics” comes from the Greek oikonomia, which means “the law of the family.” The basic economic unit is the family. Although large corporations pretend to provide security and loyalty to their employees, and centralized governments appear to “love” the elderly for whom they provide “social security,” in actuality they are only cruel, power-oriented benefactors (Luke 22:25–26). 

The household economy is based in relationships and long-term loyalty eventually producing something called “inheritance.” Instead of consuming their children’s inheritance as many “retired” people do in our present day, good men are interested in building their families’ economic well-being by passing an inheritance on to future generations. 

A household economy typically includes sons or daughters, as well as a couple of hired employees or apprentices. Because some young men are not prepared to run their own household economies, they should seek apprenticeships with other men who operate their own family economic ventures. Should the apprentice submit himself to the counsel and teaching of the older man, he will learn the wisdom and the skills provided by the mentorship. Sadly, there are some young sons whose hearts are so full of pride and dishonor for their fathers that they prove themselves unfaithful, foolish, and highly unproductive sons. This can be more prevalent among wealthy families—where wealth has created pride, slothfulness, and a deficiency of character in the children. So, if a father mentors a young apprentice in his business and finds the apprentice far more productive and willing to learn than his own son, to whom do you think he would be more likely to turn over his household business? In a day when honor of parents is practically negligible, and where wealth has corrupted the character of an entire generation, we can see this proverb particularly and painfully relevant!

Proverbs 17:3

The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tries the hearts. 

Tests, trials, and tribulations are all part of life because God intended it to be so! Always, He is testing us for our faith and our love. Will we grow embittered against Him, or turn to Him for deliverance in this trial or that? Some hearts will harden and some will soften. The same fire of tribulation that melts one heart will harden another heart into steel. Trials only betray what lies underneath. 

When we first begin to walk with the Lord, our faith is weak and fledgling. Faith starts out as a tender plant. But, sustained by the grace of God and the watering of the Word, that little plant flourishes under the intense sun of tribulation. This is how we interpret the challenges and difficulties of life. Some view their hard times as bad luck. But when you stub your toe, lose your wallet, or fail in a business, each one of these trying circumstances are intentional events in your life. They are there to test you. You will either see them as bad luck in a causeless universe or the malevolent designs of an angry God, or the wise, loving, shepherding of a kind Father. Did you stub your toe because God wanted to do you in, or is God teaching you something at that moment? Your interpretation of the things that happen to you is based on what you believe about God and your relationship with Him. Everything that happens to you will test these beliefs. 

Family Discussion Questions: 

1. Does covetousness or wealth make us discontent and contentious? Is there peace in our home? How might our home be more peaceful? 

2. How might we avoid spoiling our sons? Is wealth corrupting our children? 

3. How do you react in trials? Do they draw you closer to God, or distance you from Him?