Walk of Life- Day 27- November, 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 27:15 “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”

A continual dropping in a very rainy day causes lot of discomfort and irritates many of us. Rain is something all of us love. It is absolutely essential, the climate is awesome, and if you are in a safe and secure house, you really enjoy the rain. However, imagine you are in a house with leaks. The water is continually dropping from the ceiling, from small cracks in the walls and the sound itself is very frustrating. You cannot step out as it is raining, you are irritated inside because of the continual dropping.

This continual dropping is compared to a contentious woman in the Holy Bible. In many other translations, this continual rain is compared to a ‘quarrelsome wife’. A contentious woman or in other words, a quarrelsome wife is one who constantly nags, prods, argues, and questions. I have heard many messages on this verse which were delivered in sisters’ meetings. We know that a wife indicates a companion or a support.

The world which we live in does not make a better place for people who want to lead a solitary life. Every person searches for a companion and for a support. We, as the children of God should be good companions and a support to the people who lead a lonely life on this earth. To be a good companion, we need to examine ourselves if we have anything within us that is stopping us from being one.

This verse shows us one such quality which is ‘being quarrelsome’. We may find it easier to forgive than when we are asked to apologize. We dig the matter to the core and try to excavate many points which would favor us. In this process of excavation, we hurt the feelings of people. We try our best to blame them and put them in the prison of our thoughts. We make them to feel as culprits of an unforgivable crime.

This contentious behavior of ours not just hurts the feelings of people but also takes them far from us. What do we gain by proving ourselves right all the time and be left alone at the end? I remember reading a lesson based on the speech delivered by Aziz Premji in my college days. Applauding Indians for their nature towards the British he says that Indians do not brood over the past, they do not nurse their grievances. As the children of God, we should not be cautious about our righteousness, our greatness, or our reputation. Remember, we are no longer ourselves when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Lord. We put on Christ and when people look at us, it is not we that should appear to them, but Christ living in us.

The Lord Jesus has gone through all the situations that you are going through today. He did not leave us clueless of how to respond. When the Lord Jesus was taken to Pilate, all the accusations on Him were wrong. Even when Pilate asked Him to justify Himself, He chose not to open His mouth to prove Himself. His silence there is to gain all the humankind. He did not think His reputation is going to get damaged and people in coming generations would call Him cursed for being hung up on the cross. To reconcile us with the Father, to be a good companion to us, He remained quiet, bearing all the false accusations.

Let us learn to lose our self. The reward of letting things go is huge. We do not see people talking about the high priests who have laid false accusations that day, we do not see people taking them to be their role models. Today a large number of people follow the Lord Jesus as we do in our daily lives. Forgiving, forgetting, and asking forgiveness to build healthy relations wins souls for the kingdom of God. Nagging is probably a better word for what Solomon is trying to say. Our ego is so huge that we want to keep contending and nagging, and that truly is very irritating. Try to be a companion and a friend who understands, who adjusts, who lets go, who allows the other person to grow, who is kind and compassionate, whom people love to be with, and who is friendly and righteous at the same time.

“Instead of nagging, try encouraging. Build up people, do not tear them down. Focus on what they are doing right instead of always pointing out what they are doing wrong.”