Mixed Messages

(Pro 19:13-14 KJV)  A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.  House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

I find Solomon to be a moody writer.  If you consider this verse and the next one you get two different pictures of marriage.  If you look at the previous chapter you find out that a wife is a gift from the Lord.  If you do a study of “contentious” (4066) you will find that wives are a favorite noun for this adjective.  

So which is it?  As is to often in the Bible, it remains true to life and addresses more than just a party line.  It requires study, thought, prayer and action.  Kind of like marriage.