Wife: God’s Gift Or Luck?


Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord.” (Prov. 19:14)

What Solomon said 3000 years ago is an extremely relevant truth even today. Houses and wealth can be inherited from your ancestors but a prudent ( discreet, judicious, cautious) wife is provided by God only.

First, let us take the case of house and wealth.

I know of certain fathers who, in strict obedience to Solomon’s advice, struggled hard to make houses and properties for their children. They tightened their belts , cut down on their expenses, availed loans from banks and acquired properties for their children.

But, one fine morning, the daughter of one of the fathers eloped with her lover, abandoning the house and the property kept by her father for her future use.

Another father’s son went abroad for employment, married a foreigner and is staying there with his inter-racial children. Whenever the father tries to remind him of the property kept in his name here, back in Kerala, the son scoffs at him with the remark, “who wants that country house Dad?”

Fathers need not be over-enthusiastic about creating wealth for their offspring. Solomon’s views need be taken as an observation only , to emphasise his next point.

You have the house ,you have the wealth and now you want a prudent wife to set up a family. No father can provide it for you. Only God can do it. In my view, all wives are provided by God. But a prudent wife is a special gift of God. It seems imprudent (opposite of prudent) wives are provided to some men intentionally by God !

There is a saying that you get a good wife depending on your luck. Soon after our marriage, my wife and I went to buy a fridge for setting up our family. As we went on enquiring about the quality of various brands, the salesman shared his wisdom with us, ”Buying a fridge and getting a wife have one thing in common, how good both will be, depends on your luck, Sir”. The fridge became unserviceable after a few years, but my wife is still with me in all her prudence.

Therefore , it is not luck but God’s providence that gives you a prudent wife.

You can ask your father for house and wealth (Those who need it).But to get a prudent wife you have to turn to God. This is a message we have to effectively communicate to our children.

George Joseph Trivandrum