The Ill-Tempered Wife

We all have a day when things just don't go the way we had planned.  Sometimes the schedule just doesn't flow as we had hope and other days unexpected "extras" occur and sometimes we just wake up perturbed for no other reason than we woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  I am impressed by how many times Solomon mentions the quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.  He mentions her more often than he guides the reader to obey and respect their mothers.  If we read Proverbs 21 there are two mentions in this chapter alone of the ill-tempered wife.  "Better to live on the corner of a roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife."  (vs. 9)  "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife." (vs. 19)

This leads me to wonder if Solomon had some challenges with one or several of the wives or concubines he kept.  I am convinced that he repeats this several times throughout the book because it was as predominant challenge in his own home life. Perhaps one day I will count the times it is written but for now I will just generalize.  I would venture to say that even Solomon in all his wisdom was no match for an ill-tempered wife. It is our job as women to make our homes a place of peace, refuge and comfort.  I know that it's not always possible and I realize that there are homes where that is a seemingly impossible task because of other members in the home who are perhaps abusive or ill-tempered for their own reasons, but the wife is structured to keep the home productive and happy.

So lets try to overstep the image of a nagging, quarrelsome or ill-tempered wife and make our homes more comfortable than the corner of a roof and more satisfying than a desert! 

Puffer Fish

It is hilarious to me how you can relate scripture and nature.  Think about the puffer fish.  Not very impressive when it is just floating along and minding its own business but don't let them think you're after them!  WOW!  They just fill up with water and look like a totally different animal.  Their ability to defend themselves hasn't change at all.  What they are going to eat that day hasn't changed.  Nothing about what they are has changed at all but because there was something around that made them feel threatened, they changed their outer appearance.

Well, I've been reading in Proverbs, one chapter a day, and then I have my little Daily Bread that I read out of as well.  I was really impressed with how the readings aligned today.  In I Corinthians 2  Paul is speaking about not puffing yourself up to be anything more than what you really are.  Don't use big words and fancy talk to impress people about your knowledge of the church - or anything for that matter - along with the wise words of Solomon.  Proverbs 19:20 says " Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise."  When you open your mouth about things you really have no knowledge about, you look foolish.  Also stated in Proverbs, even a fool can look wise if he keeps his mouth shut! (paraphrased) 

Proverbs 12:9 says it is "Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than to pretend to be somebody and have no food".   Paul never bragged about anything other than how he suffered for Christ.  He mentions in II Corinthians 10 that he speaks strongly in his letters but is unimpressive in person and "his speaking amounts to nothing".  He brags about his sufferings and how he has escaped those who want to kill or persecute him in chapters 11 and 12 and finally winds up his bragging in 12:10.  "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then am I strong." 

If Paul, one of the most highly recognized apostles and founder of the Christian church worldwide had nothing to brag about, why do we feel we need to?  Be who you are and be glad that Christ loves you for who you are in Him and not who you make yourself to be.

Proverbs 16:20 states "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."

Don't be a Donkey

A Donkey?!  What do you mean exactly?

Well, a donkey is a pack animal in that it carries a load for its master.  We read in Matthew 11:25-30 that Christ is talking about how the wise don't understand this concept but that little children do.  "Come to me all you who are HEAVY LADEN and I will give you rest."  My husband and I had a discussion last evening that wound around to him sharing with me that he feels badly when I do not take the time to relax.  I work all day long and into the evening just like every other Mom and wife.  He showed concern that I burden myself and work myself to exhaustion and am not taking care of myself like he would like to see me doing.  I understand a little more all the time that he loves me and that is why it upsets him that I am not taking care of myself.  To a man that is a measure of how we, as women, love them.  If I don't take care of myself, I am not showing him I love him.  Additionally, God doesn't measure our performance and our worth by how busy we are all the time.  He commanded us to take a break one day a week and rest from our labor.  We should not evaluate each other by how busy we are.  I love that Christ values the mindset of a child so much, too.

As a child, when they are exhausted, they come to a parent and want to be carried.  They lay on our shoulders in complete submission and quietness.  Oblivious to what is transpiring around them.  We pick them up and all their baggage (toys, clothes, books,etc) that they were toting along with them and carry them without complaint to a place where they can rest.  That is what Christ wants to do for us.

I challenge you to take care of yourself.  Show your Heavenly Husband how much you love Him by taking the time to rest.  Let the child in you lay your head on the Father's shoulder and let Him carry you off to a place to rest and recharge.  Just think about how much more productive and blessed you will be after a good rest!