This is something that I wrote in response to a prompt  for one of my writing groups.

Comment on a Proverb

Proverbs 21: 19 may be the reason that so many men enjoy going on camping trips, hunting trips, or to deer camps so much. Or it could be icing on the cake of those men who love to outdoors to hike, bike, or just go out for walks.

Proverbs 21: 19 reads, “It is better for a man to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman.”

A second proverb mirrors the first. Proverbs 21: 9 says “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.”

Have you ever had to sit next to a contentious or angry person? I have and I could hardly wait until I could escape the proximity of that quarrelsome human being. It makes me want to put as much distance between me and that person as quickly as possible. It‘s difficult for me to watch another person berate or bully another. It causes me discomfort and distress.

A priest once told a man who was continuously at odds with his wife, “Even a cat and a dog get along better than you two.”

The man responded to the pastor, “Yes, father, but tie their tails together and see what happens.”

The last proverb that lends insight on contentiousness is found in Proverbs 27: 15. “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”

Have you ever tried to sleep while hearing the dripping of a faucet, the buzzing of a fly in the room, or the tapping of a branch on the bedroom window? It is almost as irksome as fingernails on a blackboard and it is in the same vein for a person who continues to nag.

I had a boss who would target the first person to do something “wrong” and it would be her duty to correct them all day. The whole day she would continue to find sins with which she could confront us or keep harping on our “original sin.” She would often interrupt your lunch break to harass us as we tried to eat.

After several years I had had enough and said, “Helen, if you want something to ride, buy a horse, but get off my back.” She left me alone for that day, but she didn’t change.