Proverbs 24:27 - Meaning and Application

This is a rule of wisdom in managing a household. Good people should also manage their affairs well, with good judgment, because that would keep them from much sin, trouble, and shame to their faith.

We should put necessities before comforts and extras. Do not spend money on display that should go to support the family. Be content with a plain cottage for a home rather than live in lack, or go into debt, to have proper food and other basic needs.

We should not plan to build until we can afford it. First, give yourself to your work in the field. Put your land in good order and take care of your farming, because that is where your income comes from. After you have earned well from that, then, and only then, may you think about rebuilding and making your house more beautiful, because that is where you will have reason to spend.

Many people have ruined their property and their families by spending money on things that do not bring in any return. They start building when they do not have the means to finish. Some understand this as advice to young men not to marry, since that is also a way of building a house, until they have established themselves in the world and can support a wife and children well.

When we have a large plan in mind, it is wise to prepare for it ahead of time. Make the needed arrangements before starting, so the work will not stop for lack of materials once it begins. Solomon, Israel’s wise king, followed this rule when building God’s house, because everything was prepared before the work began (1 Kings 6:7).