Who Done It?

(Pro 21:19 KJV)  It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

I know what it says and it is easy to just accept it but I always ask myself questions.  Today’s question, “Was this written to the man or the woman?”  It seems obvious, yet I wonder.

I wonder about this and other verses like it because the advice is usually not very useful if it is addressed to the man or husband.  If you are still courting then, sure, it is the man.  It is a warning.  If they are married it gets a little hard to pack up your camping gear, walk out of the house and pitch your tent out among the cactus.  Historically men have dealt with it by becoming circuit riding preachers or circuit court judges.  Some became sailors.  Today you might become a long haul truck driver.  Still, it is admitting defeat to move out and live with the prairie dogs.

If you look at it as an admonition to the woman it is a totally different matter.  Have you wondered why your husband is gone so much, whatever the reason given?  And there is also the point that the point could also apply to a man who is hard to live with.

So?  One of the principles of Bible reading to me is to apply the lesson to yourself first.  I need to see if I need to change.  I have little ability to change the others in my life.