Inherit the Wind

He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind, Proverbs 11:29.

I'd rather walk ten miles to avoid senseless trouble than to ride a mile into it. Eliphaz hit the nail on the head when he said, "man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward," and I have more trouble in my life than suits me now, so why would I want to add to my own misery? But apparently, there are a special few who just don't have enough problems in their life so they have to get some of their own making. They must get out of bed, bored to tears, and stir up a heap of trouble to pass the time. The more likely explanation is that a fool doesn't understand the consequences of his actions. People (most people, most of the time) don't want trouble in their life but they have a funny way to go about it because living contrary to God's way is a sure fire path to misery now, and poverty for the future. Sin today troubles the house and will eventually bring it down.

 

If you bring trouble home, you are destroying the future of your own house. How can you expect God to bless your rebellion? The Lord has set before us the path of blessing and the path of judgment (Psalm 1) and having a respect for the Bible, but not following Christ's Words is going to bring trouble home. Venerating the book, but having enough dust on the cover to write "DAMNATION" across it, as the preacher said, is a sure way to bring your house to ruin.

 

You can trouble your house by who you bring home. There are many pious people who wouldn't let a blasphemer abide for very long in their living room or refuse to let a man mock God before their family, unless, of course, he's on television. That's different. Do you think you can bring ungodly people into your home night after night to instruct you and then reap the fruit of righteousness?

 

You can trouble your house by who you keep out of it. Some take great pains to keep people and trouble out of their house. They build fences, put up signs, install security systems, and have a dog on patrol. They remain vigilantly armed to the teeth ready to keep problems out, but they trouble their house because Christ is not in the home. They trust in their strength and their armory. They trust in their valiance and their bullets. But if Christ is not in the home, or the heart, then your fortress is built on sand and will crumble. God is the founder of the home (Genesis 2:23-24). The Lord is the leader of the family (1 Corinthians 11:3). And Christ is the provider and sustainer of the house (Psalm 127:1). So to shut the closet door and not seek the Lord's face in the home is to trouble the home and inherit the wind.

 

 It's bad enough to trouble your own house, but some have the gumption to try and bring trouble to the Lord's house.  The soul foolish enough to bring trouble to the Lord's house will inherit a whole lot more than wind.