Today’s proverb is somewhat humorous in the portrait it paints, but only if you are not living out its reality!  Solomon proposes a truth in Proverbs 21:9 that was most likely drawn upon by his own life experience!

Proverbs 21:9 – “It is better [good; best; pleasing] to dwell [sit; inhabit; remain; tarry] in a corner [tower] of the housetop [roof; flat rooftop], than with a brawling [contentious; striving] woman in a wide [company; shared] house [family; household].”

More than a few men may read Proverbs 21:9 and agree with Solomon [if only under your breath, assuming wisdom might dictate holding one’s tongue]!  Solomon expresses what many men know is true—a man married to a contentious woman cannot find joy or peace!  In fact, there is not a house big enough for a man to escape a quarrelsome woman!  Abiding under the same roof as a cantankerous wife makes the seclusion offered by the corner of a housetop on a hot summer day seem like paradise!

Solomon stated that same sentiment in an earlier proverb:

Proverbs 19:13b – “…the contentions[brawling; strife] of a wife are a continual [follow close; drive on; pursue; chase] dropping[drips; leaks].”

A quarrelsome wife is as disruptive to life as rain dripping through a roof—she is a continual source of frustration and sorrow…drip…drip…drip.

I close with an observation attributed to the late radio preacher J. Vernon McGee: Some men did not “know what true happiness was until [they] got married—and then it was too late!”