BE CAREFUL WHO YOU MARRY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.

Proverbs 25:24, 27:15-16    

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I just returned home from church and on this February day in winter it’s just over 40 degrees outside. Not exactly what one would envision when they consider the “beach” in Virginia Beach.

When I arrived at my home, I activated the garage door and pulled my car into the shelter of the garage. I then entered a warm home that was far more inviting than the cold I had left outside. And it wasn’t just the temperature of my home that made it so warm and appealing. It was my lovely wife who came to me and gave me a kiss and hug as we discussed church and our experiences there. All of this brought me to a sense of comfort and peace as I changed into more comfortable clothes and settled down to write this devotion today.

But what if I didn’t have the opportunity to come in from the cold? What if I was stuck in circumstances that were less than comforting and peaceful? What if my spouse wasn’t so loving and caring and non-confrontational?

Things would be drastically different, that’s for sure.

Today’s proverb highlights the problems that can come when one is yoked to a person who is combative and argumentative vice affectionate and diplomatic. Look at the strong words of Solomon:

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. Proverbs 25:24

Let’s assume that every time I would come home, I would be greeted with embattlement, criticism and negativity, my spouse seemingly looking to debate everything we discuss or pick a fight over every little thing. This happens day after day after day after day until I get to the point where I don’t even look forward to coming home anymore.

Do you think there are a few relationships out there like this?

I hate to say so but I do and I think it’s a bigger problem than we might want to admit. Maybe you are in the midst of one like this as you read today.

What Solomon says can be true in these kinds of relationships, that a person might feel better off living on a corner of the roof of their home, exposed to the elements and without any comfort, perched precariously above the ground with certain injury awaiting them if they fall.

I think you would agree that this is pretty bad way for someone to feel.

So what is the word of the Lord trying to convey to us today?

I believe He is speaking to us in two directions.

First, if you are a spouse who is always quarrelsome, I pray you realize through this proverb that you are abusing and ruining the spirit of the person you are yoked to, so much so that they would rather live outside than inside with you. This person, the person the Lord gave to you to cherish, love, and serve Him with, deserves your best because they are God’s beautiful, priceless gift to you, a companion to travel through life with. If you’re treating them any less than they deserve, today is the day to repent and go in the right and righteous direction being the kind of wife (or husband) that the Lord expects you to be. If you’re not sure what that is, read Ephesians, Chapter 5 beginning at verse 21 which simple tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ Jesus.

The second thing I believe the Lord is saying us comes in a caution. For I think He is sending a clear warning to watch who we marry. So many people are rushing into marriages today before they even get to really know the person they are marrying. I read a church sign once that I felt was so very true. It simply said this:

If more people would court today, we would find less marriages going to court.

It used to be that people would date for quite awhile to ensure they would be compatible with one another. If the right chemistry wasn’t there to make the relationship endure until death (i.e. until death do we part), then people would simply break up and look for the right mate.

Today, we leap before we look unfortunately and people only find out of issues in compatibility after they have made the plunge. Too often, the results are simply disastrous with divorce and the associated emotional hardships occurring. I’m convinced so many of these divorces could have been avoidable if people would have just taken their time. I’m even more convinced that it wouldn’t have happened if people would have allowed the Lord to lead them to their mate.

Friends, this is the central takeaway from today’s soul piercing proverb on relationships. Want to ensure you get into the right relationship? Allow the Lord to guide you there and you will never go wrong. He will lead you to the man or woman He wants you to be with. It’s not about the desires of your heart but the desires of His when it comes right down to it. All you need to do is surrender your will for His and let Him bring the right person into your life.

If you do, you’ll always look forward to coming into a warm home, filled with a warm spirit of love from your spouse, and never consider going up on the corner of the roof, ever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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