A Contentious Hen

"Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife." (Proverbs 25:24)

My husband's co-worker approached him minutes before the end of the workday and begged him to take a horrible rooster off of his hands. "This rooster," the man said, "Mounts my wife's head as if it were a hen. It's a menace and I need you to kill it." Nonchalantly acknowledging our infamy of being the 'bad rooster disposal service', my husband acquired the rooster and brought it home.

En route from his co-worker's house, my husband calls me on the phone: "Hey, honey," my husband says to me, "This rooster is a silkie. Haven't you always wanted a silkie?" For those of you who don't know what a silkie is, it's a small version of a chicken that has very fluffy feathers and barely resembles a chicken at all. As a matter of fact, it's more closely related to a koosh ball or perhaps a mop head. It's like a tiny, clucking cloud and is ridiculously endearing. So, we agreed that unless this rooster was going to mistake my head for a mate, we would keep him.

The next day, we kept a close eye on the rooster to see if he displayed any tendencies toward violence or molestation toward humans. He was docile, and much to our surprise, was being mercilessly harassed by our hens. They chased him through impossible obstacle courses through the barn and pulled out a number of his feathers. The icing on the top of this cake was when the poor little guy perched at the edge of our 30 gallon water tub for a drink and a hen pushed him right in. The rooster nearly drowned and we had to pull him out.

When the hilarity of the situation subsided, the Lord sobered me by pointing out to me that this is what many wives do to their husbands. Many wives act like the home is their domain and make it hard for their husband to relax in it. On top of that, they often pick a time of their husband's most vulnerable, weak times to humiliate him. Even if 'blowing some steam' is their goal as opposed to 'making their man suffer', the end product is the same--a bruised ego for one and a cock-like hen for the other.

"To the woman (God) said, '...Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you.' -Genesis 3:16

"Therefore, whoever resists the authorities is resisting what God has instituted; and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves." -Romans 13:2

To the ladies, I say this: Honor men. Honor all men in authority over you. Fathers, husbands, grandfathers, bosses, pastors, etc...they all deserve your respect. When you do anything to humiliate them, you are humiliating yourself. Never slander your husband or speak ill of him. If you are one with him, you are defaming yourself right alongside him. Even if he has wronged you tremendously, we must bless those who curse us and do good to those who spitefully use us.

To the men, I say this: I'm sorry. My ugly, rebellious head has surfaced many times in my life. May my future be patterned by the beauty of submission and honor. May my tongue speak only life and not death. May my actions be for the glory of others and not to prefer myself.


"Who can find a capable wife? Her value is far beyond that of pearls. Her husband trusts her from his heart, and she will prove a great asset to him. She works to bring him good, not harm, all the days of her life." (Proverbs 31:8-9)