Bread of Idleness

She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat. (Proverbs 31:27, Amplified)


I am a type-A person. I find it hard to sit still.  Especially when I am at home, I am always doing something, always moving (except when I am here doing this blogging thing!)  There is an endless amount of work to do here: dishes to wash, cups to fill with juice, counters to wipe, toilets to scrub, crumbs to sweep, clean underwear to fold, dirty towels to wash...  I am rarely idle!

So this version caught my eye as it amplifies the phrase "bread of idleness" to include the big three for women -- or maybe it's just me?  Gossip.  Discontentment.  Self-pity.  While the idleness flies over my head, these three hit me in the heart.

Gossip is like crack.  It is so easy to succumb to.  I am naturally nosy.  I want to know what is going on, and then I want to talk about it.  "Mind your own business, for goodness sake! Don't you have enough problems of your own?" I try to remind myself, even today.  But it is hard.  Heck, there are whole magazines, TV shows, websites, and novels that are pure gossip.  It is an industry, for goodness sake!  But it is the bread of idleness, distracting me from the activities of my own household.

Discontentment is another trap, with it's sister Self-pity.  I look around at what others have and say, "I want that too!" and "it's not fair" and  "why not me?"  I see things I cannot have and cannot  fix and feel sad and complain about them.  Better to look at the things I do have and I can fix to make better--that is, the activities of my own household!    

Gossip, discontent and self-pity are things we that can fill our valuable time. They redirect our lives and the lives of our families, in ways that are destructive.  Because these activities draw us away from what we can do to make everyone's life better: manage our own household!

It is not merely avoiding laziness, it is being focused on managing what belongs to us.

Father, please help me to be so focused on being a good steward of what You have given me that I can avoid looking to the right and left to what is not mine.  Let me heart be filled with gratitude and the desire to care for my husband, family and home.  Let me bless them!

She directs the activities of her household, and never does she indulge in laziness. (The Voice)