Living in the Cone

(Pro 27:27 KJV)  And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

We see Proverbs laying out our areas of responsibility.  It is expressed other places but we are here today.  It starts with providing your own needs.  Some people are guilty of overlooking this.  One reason we go to work every day is to buy the food to make us able to go to work the next day.  It seems like a dull circle.  But the circle expands.

We are responsible for our “household” (1004).  This has the sense of extended family.  It is more than your children but less than your tribe.  Joshua used the word in a verse we often hear quoted,

(Jos 24:15 KJV)  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house (1004), we will serve the LORD.

We are not the Lone Ranger or the solitary crusader on a quest.  We have responsibility that goes beyond our shoes.

Then Proverbs takes it a step further.  The “maidens” (5291) may be part of the family but the idea here, I think, is the outsider brought in to do a task.  These are employees.  Do you have a responsibility to provide a living wage?  I would say that is implied.

So?  Don’t think of your life as a single line.  Think of it as a cone spreading out in influence and responsibility.  It is a daunting concept but the promise is that God will provide if we are faithful.