Strife

“A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” Proverbs 6:19

Strife – Joseph and his brothers.  That’s where you look to see the full meaning of this word.  Go back to Genesis 37.  The Hebrew word medaniym means a discord or quarrel that can’t be stopped once it gets going.  It is the word for endless arguments and bitterness.  God hates this behavior!

Proverbs 6:19 is the summary of the life Joseph and his brothers shared before he was sold into slavery.  Both sides contributed to the tension.  Arrogance on one side resulted in treachery on the other.  Nobody won.  Things only got worse.

Strife is not the intended state of existence.  God created a world of harmony.  God intends His children to be peacemakers.  Jesus left us with a peace that is beyond this world.  But how many of us still act as though we are living with Joseph and the brothers?  God hates strife because it is totally opposed to His reign of peace.

I have three brothers.  Sometimes I think the strife we created was equal to all twelve of the sons of Jacob.  Years later the memories still hurt.  Not because I was the innocent victim.  Far from it.  There are no innocent victims in the spreading of strife among brothers.  God forgive me for all that I did to keep it going.

Perhaps you have a family like mine.  Maybe there is another group that has been injured by endless argument.  It doesn’t matter who started it.  Strife is like a weed in the garden.  It propagates itself until all of the flowers are choked to death.   There is only one permanent cure for strife – repentance and humility.  If that sounds familiar, don’t be surprised.  It seems to me that most of life’s behavioral ills have exactly the same cure.

Consider strife in your life today.  Dormant or active, the weed is always going to be there until you dig it out and offer it to God – a sacrifice that needs to be burned up.

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