LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
by Pastor Mensa Otabil
 
Monday 8th December 2025
 

BUILD GOOD THINGS
 

Scripture Reading:* Proverbs 14
 

The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands._ *Proverbs 14:1*
 

What kind of a person are you, a builder or a destroyer? This proverb refers to those who invest their time and resources in improving things and those who do everything they can to make things worse. We have to choose which of these people we would like to be.
 
Although the proverb is addressed to a woman, the principle applies to men as well. Both men and women can be builders; as well as destroyers.
 
The wise builds.

It is so hard to build things. It takes a great deal of effort to build a life, a home, or a vocation.
 
Frequently in the Bible, people who build are described as wise people. Building, in this sense, goes beyond the physical act of constructing a house. It includes the idea of caring for and nurturing things to make them flourish. Though it may take a short time to physically build a house, it takes a lifetime of repairs and maintenance to keep the house standing.
 
The wise person builds and continues to maintain what he or she has built. Whether it is a relationship, home, vocation, or mission, those who are wise invest all their efforts to ensure that what they build remains standing.
 
The foolish pulls down.

It is so easy to tear things down. It takes very little effort to destroy what we or others have built. The foolish in this proverb does not refer to an illiterate but to a hard-hearted person who does not yield to correction.
 
Such a person will destroy what they have built by launching attacks against it or simply not paying attention to what needs to be done. For example, it takes a day to have a glamorous wedding but a lifetime of careful nurturing to keep the marriage working. The same applies to all the things we do.
 
God wants us to be builders and not destroyers.
 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I want to be a builder. Help me nurture and grow everything you have given me. In Jesus’ name, *Amen.*