Read Proverbs 17 at Bible Gateway.
Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. Pro 10:12
A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends. Pro 16:28
He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends. Pro 17:9
Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. Pro 26:20
Lat’s talk about the root of strife today! The enemy is the whisperer and the talebearer, who whispers lies about people and repeats matters to our minds, to incite hatred and stir up strife and division between them. This is his number one tactic to create conflict in a marriage or in families – getting one spouse to believe lies about the other one, or both to believe lies about each other.
1 Cor 13:6 says that love believes all things, i.e. love believes what is good about someone, not what is bad. And, someone who loves instead of hates will cover a transgression instead of repeat it to others.
By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. Pro 13:10
He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. Pro 28:25
Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease. Pro 22:10
As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife. Pro 26:21
A proud man is one who is not necessarily an arrogant know it all, but one who will not bow his knee to the LORD God, or submit his heart to His will. The word “strife” in Hebrew means “a contest.” With a proud man, a contest of wills ensues, and a man who is in a contest of wills for supremacy, is a man who stirs up strife. The man who wants his way does not care what trouble he ends up creating in order to get his way.
The man who trusts in the LORD, submits his heart to the LORD’s will, because he believes that God’s way are best, even if he himself does not end up benefiting personally from following them (some people are martyred, after all, in their determination to submit to God’s will).
A wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention. Pro 15:18
An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression. Pro 29:22
For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife. Pro 30:33
The root of anger is either thwarted expectations, or impatience. Being slow to anger is very close to being forbearing, longsuffering, or patient. With either thwarted expectations, or impatience, something did not happen or is not happening the way the person who is becoming angry wants it to.
However, circumstances do not cause anger; anger is a chosen and often learned emotional response to circumstances (there are other more beneficial responses to circumstances which someone could choose). The angry response to circumstances leads to strife, because anger as an emotional response is an assault on the psyche of another person. It’s the same as battery, but the part of the person that is being attacked is the soul and not the body.
Hatred, pride, and anger are all fruits of lies believed, coming from spirits of hatred, pride, and anger; just as love, humility, and patience are all fruits of truth believed, coming from the Spirit of truth whose fruit is love, humility, and patience (Rom 15:13). We have authority over evil spirits in the name of Yeshua, so let us walk in that authority and not submit to their lies or their emotions!
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