FIND A GOOD WIFE -- FIND A GOOD LIFE! -- Devotional for October 7, from "Good Seeds"

(DEAR READER: Now you're going to think, "Now he's not falling behind but jumping ahead." Well, here's the deal: Tomorrow I leave for Japan, to join Karen, my wife, in ministry (who's been there already two weeks. I'll be writing a devotional a day, as usual, but I don't know if I'll have an internet access. So while I'm ahead two days now, I may fall 8 or 9 days behind, in publishing the devotionals. We return on October 16 and shortly thereafter you will find a plethora of devotionals, inspired, no doubt, by the experiences and relationships of my 10 days in Japan. I will be teaching, preaching, and doing puppets and music on Sunday, Oct. 11, and after that spending time with Hiro, our Japanese "son" and his wife and two little ones -- granddaughters we have yet to meet! See you soon again!)

A father can give his sons homes and riches, but only the Lord can give them understanding wives. A worthy wife is her husband’s joy and crown – the other kind corrodes his strength and tears down everything he puts up. But find a good wife, you find a good life – and even more: the favor of God! (Proverbs 19:14; 12:4; 18:22)

It’s pretty hard for these two things NOT to go together. I know a man who is constantly on the lookout to better his circumstances, to improve his situation, to find just the right job that will make the most of his gifts and talents and not waste his time with trivialities and troublesome people. If you met him, you would think to find a worrisome, discontented, and frustrated fellow. But amazingly, that’s not the case at all! And if you asked him if he was happy, the word “deliriously” would probably pass his smiling lips. How can this be, that a man struggles to find a good fit in his life’s vocation, and yet he appears to be just about the most joyful fellow in town? There’s only one explanation: he is one of those men blessed by God with a worthy wife! The Bible says such a woman has the amazing God-sent capacity to not only win her husband’s favor, but to cause him to shine, both in his inward temperament and in his outward testimony. But she is not just her husband’s joy, she is also his crown. If this man I’m talking about is not the most successful in his chosen field, or if he’s not terribly well known in the world at large, still – he is the hero at home! To his wife he couldn’t be more famous! He is the crowned one! What is a crown? It’s the hat worn by the high man, the one in charge, and honored as such. We think of a crown as a metallic, bejeweled affair, with kingly pomp and flair, but originally the word referred to the simple woven wreath awarded to the “one who won” a local – or an Olympic – sporting event. It’s interesting to note that the word for “crowned one” in the ancient Greek language is Stephanos, from which we get the name Steven. Interesting also – at least to me – that that is my name, for I am THAT MAN, that favored one, I’m happy to confess, in the story above! My earthly father gave me my name but, as Solomon said, he could never have given me what my Heavenly Father presented to me these many years ago: my beautiful wife! The old King James Bible says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing.” Oh she’s a good thing all right, for regardless of my continued struggle to make my mark in this world for God, she makes it clear to me every day that I’ve already made such a mark with her! The best thing God gave me was His Son, when by faith I received Him as my Savior. But the second best thing He ever gave me was my good wife – for with her has come such a good life that I just smile and wink at all my silly struggles!