[Darris McNeely] As you read through the Proverbs, they're all so great, they're pithy, they're wise sayings, there's one that I've always looked at and paused and thought about, Proverbs 21:9, "Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop than in a house shared with a contentious woman." Now, the writer of Proverbs, the compiler at this point, thought this was so important that down in verse 19 of Chapter 21, it's repeated with a little bit of a variation, "Better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman."

In other words, sometimes, people don't get along and in the case of a marriage and situation, husband and wife, a woman may be the problem. I've been a marriage counselor for a number of years, as a pastor and pastoral work, and I've seen this scripture actually thrown on the table in marriage disputes and counselings I've been involved with, and actually, I've seen it applied both ways. A man can be just as contentious as a woman and drive the woman away. So, it works both ways. For whatever reason, the scripture is written this way to include the woman, but here's the point.

Sometimes, relationships just get where they don't work. And marriages happen like that. Other relationships, friendships, partnerships, office relationships, they all can, sometimes, come to a point where they don't work. And despite counseling, despite remediation, despite all kinds of efforts at reconciliation, sometimes the answer is just to remove yourself. One Proverb says into the corner of a different house, the other Proverb here says into the wilderness away from a point of contention, that particular individual, man or woman.

It's an important lesson that I think at some times, we have to come to as we deal with conflict, as we deal with situations that just aren't working out. And yes, you know, we daily interact and this and that, but at times, you have to realize that maybe just distancing to whatever degree, in whatever way that distancing takes shape is the only solution to remove ourselves from what is an unhealthy type of situation or relationship.

A lot of wisdom in the Proverbs in that way. We don't certainly want to be contentious, we don't wanna create strife, but if all other efforts at reconciliation or problem-solving fail, sometimes, we just have to, in one way or the other, remove ourselves. It's an important principle to remember and when you learn it, don't forget it.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.