To Love or Quarrel?

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 27-29; Acts 5:1-21

“A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand” (Proverbs 27:15-16).

Are you starting to find a trend as you read through these Proverbs? King Solomon mentions the woes of a quarrelsome wife time and again. While I hope that I never become so quarrelsome that I can’t be controlled, I know the tendency is there. Sometimes I find myself getting so frustrated with something that I pick a fight, just so that we can hash it out. Luckily for me, my husband doesn’t play along, and so my “fires” quickly burn down. Before I know it, I’m no longer angry, and we can talk about the situation a little more rationally. I don’t know why I act this way. There’s really no explaining it. Perhaps I look at the world around me, and think that quarreling is part of a normal relationship, that there must be something wrong if my husband and I hardly ever argue about anything. This is what the world has taught me.
But God lays out a different set of rules. 1 Corinthians 13 shows us just how important love is in a relationship. This overarching type of love, agape, is patient, kind, and isn’t self-seeking. Showing this type of love in a relationship is the exact opposite of starting a quarrel. It’s showing restraint in a relationship and looking out for the best interests of the other person involved.
Even if it makes us abnormal, I’d rather live this married life with as few fights as possible. Instead, I’d rather focusing on loving unconditionally.

What about you? Do you pick love or a quarrel more often than naught?

Lord, please help me to always display patience and love in my relationships, instead of getting defensive and picking fights.