Let God Control Your Quarrels

Let’s read Proverbs 17:13-14:

Whoever rewards evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.  14 The beginning of strife is like releasing water;
Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

My focus this morning is on verse 14.  I think the imagery that Solomon, the writer of this proverb, uses is right on target.  When you release water, it runs in all kinds of places and can do all kinds of damage.  Many of us have seen footage of a dam that cracks and breaks.  The water goes everywhere and really cannot be controlled.  But it can be controlled if it is contained behind the dam.  Quarrelling and arguing often go to a “place” where we never anticipated it would go.  I wonder how many people have served time in prison because a quarrel that got out of control?

So what do we do?  We simply stop the contention before the quarrel starts.  We simply “stand down” and let it go.  Better yet, we stand down and turn it over to God.  God hasn’t lost a “quarrel” yet.  God can reach inside the heart of those we might have a dispute with and He can work from the inside out…greatly increasing His effectiveness.  We can let our opinion or facts be made known in a humble way, in a kind way, without arguing.  Let God take care of the rest.

In wisdom,
Eric