Thursday, December 22, 2022

Nagging and Rooftop Escapes

Suggested Reading: Proverbs 25:20-28

It always seems to happen about this time of year. Stress. There is too much to do, too many things to get ready, too many events to attend, too much house to clean. Family  and guests are coming and the house needs to be spotless to provide that perfect Christmas atmosphere. There is never enough money  or time for all of the gifts you want to get and all of the cards you want to send. Slowly, all of these little frustrations build and you begin doing it without even realizing you're doing it.

You start nagging.

The kids aren't keeping their rooms clean enough. Your spouse is doing all of the wrong chores. People are taking too long to get ready. No one is RSVPing in time.  Why did they forget the milk at the grocery store? That's not the way the stockings were supposed to be hung! Nag, nag, nag, nag, nag. Sound familiar? Maybe you know someone who sounds that way right now. Maybe you are the one who sounds like that.

I had a friend once who used to quote a verse daily, "Proverbs 25:24,  Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a nagging wife" (HCSB). He also quoted the other three Proverbs that were just like it. Constantly. I used to think those verses were just my friend's and the writer's way of venting or of warning unmarried people about the kind of spouse they should be searching for.  I still think both of those things may be true but I think it was also a bit of advice for how to be the right kind of person. 

When you nag you become unbearable to live with. So don't. Nothing can kill Christmas cheer like a nagging family member. Nothing sucks the motivation out of preparing for guests like someone ragging on you for not doing it the "right" way or never being given credit for the work that has already been done. And nothing drives a wedge between family members, and especially spouses, quicker than constant nagging.

This holiday season, in the midst of all the preparations and the to-do lists, decide not to be a nag. Don't drive your spouse, kids, or anyone else to living on the roof.

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