Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Brawling Women

Proverbs 21:9 
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop,
than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
 

A "brawling woman" sounds like someone who had a few too
many barley pops at the local tavern and is giving out knuckle sandwiches.

The Lord isn't describing a Christian wife, is He?
If "brawling" doesn't indicate a bar fight, let's look into the meaning.

"Contentious" is the word chosen in New KJV translation.
 NIV  translated it "quarrelsome."

In the Bible Knowledge Commentary, it says a man would prefer
living on a corner of a housetop
"where one can at least have peace and quiet
rather than in a spacious home with an
argumentative, contentious wife.  
A wife who causes strife
makes a home unpleasant and undesirable."


Putting yourself in the picture yet? 
I am.

 
I guess the "corner of the house" has been replaced with
current sayings like
"being in the doghouse"
"sleeping on the couch"
"being in hot water"
but a wife's reputation to be cranky remains the same.

Yea, that's my husband on the corner of the house.





No, I wasn't being contentious (this time), he was putting up Christmas lights.

But, this picture makes me think about the Biblical admonitions.

Men fight with their fists, women fight with their tongues.

Pr. 19:13, "And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping."
Pr. 27:15, "A continual dripping on a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike."
Pr. 21:19, "Better to dwell in the wilderness,
than with a contentious and angry woman."

Wow. 
The Lord really understands women, right?

He also understands men.

1 Peter 3:1-2
"Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands,
that even if some do not obey the word, they,
without a word,
 may be won by the conduct of their wives,
when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.

Did you read that middle line?
Without a word.
Without.
A.
Word.

Men don't like to be nagged.
You don't win when you nag.
Oh, and it's coupled with submission.

Does that mean you never have a say?
No.
Our husbands married us because they admire our faith and our brains.
They want those faith and brains in action.


Does that mean you'll always win?
No.
Do you want to, anyway? 
Didn't you marry him because of his faith and brains?


We can't have the dripping faucet kinda' action.
Or the kind of action that sends him to the
21st century variation of the "corner of the house."


The action where you wisely state your opinion,
allow him to state his opinion,
then pray,
especially if your opinions differ,
until you have an agreed upon course of action.

We "win" when we
walk in the Lord's will as a couple.

We need to keep our husbands off the roofs.
It's safer inside, anyway.


4 comments:

  1. Oh my, I really needed this reminder today. Life's stresses have a way of unbridling my tongue...often times without me even realizing it.

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  2. What a great reminder, thanks Mindy!!

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  3. Worse than a bar fight. Hmmm!

    Funny and inspirational. I love your style. Thanks for the gentle reminder. :)

    Love the pic.

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  4. Always good to think & pray about.Thanks. :)
    To have a peaceful home is not only good for the husband to come home to but good for those Munchkins to witness in a world of broken homes.

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