Skip to main content
Friday!
Proverbs!
Better to live 
on the edge of a roof than to share a house with a contentious woman.
Proverbs 25:24 CEB
This is one of those proverbs that is weaponised against women. 
This is a proverb of Solomon and maybe there's some regret at his choice to have wives against God's express command. 
However if it's a picture of our hearts desire to have peace, then living in peace with less, is pictured here. 
If this picture is about a couple, what responsibility does the husband have to resolve the problem?
Why is she so contentious?
Is the choice of roles here meant to be instructive? Or is it just a reflection of cultural norms? Perhaps a wife would have no choice to move up onto the corner of the roof if the husband was the contentious one...
At a deep level we want to live in peace with people, not contention, but there are times when that's reality. Maybe this Proverb is saying that our commitments to one another matter, and while the issue is being resolved you don't walk away, discard, dismantle, destroy relationships, but it's OK to have some space...
If I'm governed by God's love and his heart for people then I'm not looking for a weapon. What we do with this proverb says something about our own hearts... 
#proverbs
#wisdom
#somethingtochewon
#itsaheartthing

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he looks at p
"Do not despise these small beginnings,  for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin,  to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand." Zechariah 4:10 NLT At the centre of this story is not something shiny, something new, but the damaged, broken down ruins.  Jesus met people where they were, in the brokenness, in their hurt, in the mess. That's where he was.  We can tend to hide away the damage, sideline it, perhaps feature it only when there's been restoration.  But this story says something different.  Jesus life tells us something different. God is delighting in the small things going on in the broken down temple. He isn't saying "when it's all fixed up and looking good then I'm interested".  No, He is invested now.  Right now.  Right where we are.  Come as you are to church, to community, to fellowship, to friendship. Jesus never sidelines the hurt parts, never says they don't matter, and we don't need to either... #smallbeginnings #t
"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware!  For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues.  You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers.  But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don't worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking - it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Matthew 10:16-20 NLT Jesus instructions to the 12 Apostles take a bit of a turn here - it's one thing going out with no money or resources, quite another expecting arrest, torture, imprisonment, just so you can talk about Jesus.  However consider the attitude Jesus asks them to walk in as they go into enemy territory - smart yet peaceful. Consider the resources Jesus is providing whe