THE PRUDENT WIFE

"...and a prudent wife is from the LORD." Prov. 19.14b

Encouragement for Ladies by Vicki Dowell

I must admit that I enjoy the opportunity to vent myself in this column each month. I have many opinions, which I'm happy to share with you. Please be assured that no topic is meant for any particular individual. Prior to this newsletter, my platform rarely extended outside my husband and children. I'm stocked full of articles on a variety of subject’s reprimand to get out. I simply have lots to say. I do not intend any reprimand you may feel personally. So "if the shoe fits, wear it," but

don't think I'm picking on you because I'm not! Maybe you'll appreciate that introduction as you read in my essay.

"GOOD LUCK!" It's such a common expression. It was on my mind because I saw so many four-leaf clovers decorating merchandise this month. I looked in the concordance of the Bible. and the closest word I could find to "luck" was "Lucifer." What a coincidence! Luck is not a (KJV) biblical word. So I found it in the dictionary. Luck is that which happens to a person, good or bad, affecting their happiness or fortune; an event which takes place without being intended or foreseen, or from some cause not under human control; that which cannot be previously known or determined with certainty by human skill or power. Luck seems to respect persons and their proceedings. We never say that a plant has the luck to grow in a particular place. But a person is considered to have had good luck if he escapes danger. I cross-referenced the word "chance." It has a similar meaning with luck. Chance is an event that happens, falls out, or takes place, without being contrived, intended, expected, or foreseen. with an unknown cause. Chance appears to come without design, but maybe that is because God does not reveal it to us humans. "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill: but time and chance happeneth to them all " Ecc. 9:11. There are six occurrences of the word "chance" in the Bible. They are Deut. 22:6, 1 Sam. 6:9. 2 Sam. 1:6. Ecc. 9: 11 (just quoted), Luke 10:31, and 1 Cor. 15:37. As I meditated upon them, I decided that since there is no scriptural account of someone being "wished good luck," I'll refrain from it. It is too closely tied to enchantment, that is the act of producing certain wonderful effects by the invocation or aid of demons, and the use of magic arts, spells or charms. Do you carry a rabbit's foot for good luck? Do you wear a particular symbol on a necklace for protection? Do you avoid walking under ladders for fear of bad luck? Does a black cat crossing your path cause you anxiety? Do you knock on wood? Do you dread seven years if you break a mirror? Are you subject to these apprehensions? I hope not! God repeatedly condemned abominable practices in many scriptures, such as Deut. 18:10-11 ... one that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits. or a wizard, or a necromancer (one who pretends communication with the dead), Lev. 19:26, Exo. 22: 18. and Gal. 5: 19-21. Do you believe in leprechauns? They are said to be fairies who can reveal a buried crock of gold to anyone who catches them. Is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Let us be reminded of the words of the Lord in Rom. 12:9, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" and in I Thess. 5:21-22, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil." The scripture at the end of my January article is aptly applied here as well. May God help us to "walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil " Eph. 5:15-16