Nagging Gets You Nowhere
By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one's right hand. - Proverbs 27:15-16 (ESV) No one likes a nag. As evidenced in Proverbs 27, nagging is as annoying as a continual dripping on an already rainy day. Have you ever been subject to your spouse's nagging? It can be a very defeating, discouraging time. Worse yet, have you ever nagged your spouse? If so, you can relate to the hopelessness that takes over. As a wife, I can attest to feeling at times like my mouth is running away with me, and I can't seem to stop the stream of negativity from spewing. Even though I don't want to do that, I often feel like I can't help it. One common type of nagging shows up in the form of reminders. My husband and I often struggle with communication here. He'll commit to doing a task--say, cleaning the toilet. I might assume he meant that day, or that weekend, but in his mind, he meant he would take care of it when he could. As the days pass, I'm tempted to point out it hasn't been done yet. He views this as nagging, yet I'm thinking it's just a simple reminder in case he forgot. I'm trying to be helpful! Yet an argument ensues. This type of miscommunication is all too familiar with married couples, regardless of how long you've been hitched. There are no easy answers, except perhaps this-- if we pray more and "nag" less, we'll see better results. Even if you feel like you're not nagging and are totally justified in what you want to say, going to the Lord in prayer first can bring incredible results. You might think "Hold on, now. The Lord doesn't care about my toilet." I beg to differ! The Lord absolutely cares about the peace in your home, your marriage, and the way you, as spouses, treat each other as image-bearers. That includes conversations about chores! | 
No comments:
Post a Comment