Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 17:14

by David Chadwick

“The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.”

Proverbs 17:14

Strife is powerfully destructive and like a forceful burst of water, able to bust through the strongest of dams. Like water building up behind a barrier, when strife is set free, it’s awfully hard to stop it. And it’s terribly destructive.

Today, we will address the problem of strife that is frequently addressed in the Bible. Solomon repeatedly addresses strife throughout the Proverbs. Strife apparently comes on the scene when jealousy, selfish ambition, and other sin patterns abound! James 3:16 says, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Strife invites things like division, resentment, retaliation, and so many other evil actions. As born-again, Bible-believing Christians, we must stop strife, and, in turn, we will stop further evil from happening.

Let’s take a look at James 3:13 for a New Testament perspective on this topic. “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”

Do you see the correlation? A person of wisdom has good conduct. He or she behaves appropriately and displays meekness, which in so many ways is the opposite of strife. A gentle spirit. A calm demeanor. A resolved purity.

Therefore, when it comes to strife, as my mom used to say, “Nip it in the bud.” Stop it before it starts. Seek to never be a source of strife in your relationships. If it comes your way, walk the other way. Quit before the quarrel breaks out. The best way to handle strife is to never allow it in the first place!

Live out Psalm 34:14 and 1 Peter 3:11. Turn from evil. Seek peace. And pursue it!

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 17:13

by David Chadwick

“If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.”

Proverbs 17:13

My kids used to listen to a Scripture memory song from Romans 12:21 when they were younger that said, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Do not be overcome by evil. With good. With good. Overcome evil with good.” Hearing them singing this verse will be forever etched in my mind.

Evil is everywhere. Our world is broken, and until Jesus returns, evil is an unfortunate reality we all must endure. As followers of Jesus, how should we navigate a world full of evil? Do not return evil with evil! Why not? Because when you return evil with evil, the person to whom you returned the evil will only enlarge his or her response to you. Responding to evil with evil will only escalate the evil.

Proverbs 17:13 says, “If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.” In other words, you become a house for evil when you repay someone’s goodness with evil.

This same command is repeated in the New Testament in Romans 12:19. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

It’s called “lex talionis,” the law of retaliation. This Latin principle was what famously became known as “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” The punishment must fit the crime in full! This principle was rooted in vengeance and justice. But Gandhi was correct when he said that this teaching carried out will leave the world blind and toothless.

The only thing that can break this law of retaliation is grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The Bible says to forgive 70 times 7. Over and over again. Repeatedly. This is both for your benefit, for the benefit of the others, and for the health of society.

The key to you being able to forgive is to know Jesus’s forgiveness of you on the cross. He forgave you a $1 billion debt, one that you could never forgive. Therefore, you should easily be able to forgive the $10 debt someone may owe us.

Forgiveness sets you free! It is for your benefit. It stops the endless cycle of revenge. And it's for God’s glory.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 11:2, Boasting is Unbecoming

by Marilynn Chadwick

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 11:2 NIV

Proverbs 11:2 warns us about the destructive nature of pride. The Message paraphrase provides a commonsense twist, “The stuck-up fall flat on their faces, but down-to-earth people stand firm.”

Let’s face it. Boasting is practically a national pastime. It’s as American as apple pie. Our athletes swagger. Our celebrities strut. Bumper stickers flaunt our favorite teams, our super kids, and our alma maters. Our talents, treasures, and triumphs win us bragging rights. At times, we all like to toot our own horn. I grew up in the deep South where we had an expression for the ultimate boast: "No brag. Just fact."

What’s so bad about a little dose of healthy pride? After all, it can be satisfying to look at our accomplishments. The dictionary defines ”boast” this way: “To talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities." A healthy sense of pride is not altogether wrong.

But when does pride cross into the danger zone? When does pride separate us from God? The Bible warns us we are on shaky ground when we begin to trust our human strength instead of depending on God. The antidote, according to Scripture, is to seek humility.

The book of James, often called the “Proverbs of the New Testament,” takes this same warning a step further. He challenges not just our pride of accomplishment, but also our presumptuous plans:

“Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.”

James 4:13,15-16 AMP

Boasting is unbecoming for the believer in Jesus. As James reminds us, we're not in control of our lives. God is God and we are not. If we could gain control of our world for even one minute, we would be shocked at our inadequacy to “run the world.” No wonder Adam and Eve hid in shame after they presumed to become “like God” (Genesis 3:7-10).

We can be thankful when the Lord reminds us of our humanity. He is God, and we are not, and most trouble in life comes when we get those two things mixed up. We can rest in the promises of God’s sovereign control of every aspect of our lives.

So today, let’s choose to “humble ourselves before the Lord.” We may find in due time that he will “lift us up” (James 4:10) in his way and in his time as we trust in him and not in our own strength.