Wednesday, April 2, 2014

A House is Not a Home

Proverbs 21:9
 
9Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious wife.
 
This may sound like a sting to some women but God used King Solomon to address a very real situation. Remember, every scripture is God breathed and applicable. It is a very real situation in that it is the quickest way for a man to leave home. Luther Vandross said, "A house is not a home when the two of us are far apart." The book of Song of Solomon provides the illustration of courtship and marriage as one of happiness and where the husband and wife have a true oneness. The NKJ Study Bible begins the translation of verse 9 as, "The portrait of marriage God paints in Scriptures is a most intimate relationship in which husband and wife grow to become lovers and best friends." The translation goes on to say how husbands are commanded to love their wives as stated by the Apostle Paul and, "a wife is commanded to respond to her husband and to respect him but a contentious spirit says, I will not respond to you and I do not respect you."  But what does it mean to be contentious? Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines contentious as, 1)likely to cause disagreement or argument 2) exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes.
And there it is. If a woman is fighting a man tooth and nail on every decision, every aspect of life at home, then she will see the result of a man who does not wish to be at home. This is not to say that a woman is to be docile. If you want to argue constantly, then become a lawyer in the courtroom or seek a public office. A home is to be one of peace. It does not mean that there can be no difference of opinion but pick wisely on that which God is directing. Our God is Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace. If there is no peace then God is missing somewhere as peace is a blessing from God.

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