![]() Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law for they are unprofitable and vain.Ĩ. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments. Pursue faith, love, and peace together with those who worship the Lord with a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22-23 Stay away from lusts which tempt young people. Proverbs 18:6-7 The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.Ħ. Proverbs 17:19-20 He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction. He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.ĥ. Proverbs 17:14 Starting a quarrel is like letting out water stop it before strife breaks out!Ĥ. Proverbs 20:3 Avoiding strife brings a man honor, but every fool is quarrelsome.ģ. Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.Ģ. Even if it wasn’t your fault if you have something against someone kindly and humbly talk it out and reconcile your friendship.ġ. Never hold a grudge with someone which can hinder your relationship with the Lord. Refrain from anger and keep love because love covers all wrongs. It destroys families, friendships, churches, and marriages. We are to love others as ourselves, but strife does not do that. It is caused by things that have no business in Christianity like pride, hate, and jealousy. Amen.As Christians we are to have nothing to do with strife because it’s always caused by ungodly traits and it leads to arguments. ![]() Wherever I am, Lord, in my workplace or my community, in my family or my church, in private or in public, may I seek your peace. Give me the ability to say what is right without needing to win. In these times, help me to be humble and wise. Yes, there will be times when conflict is inevitable, times even when I need to raise issues that might create relational tension. Help me to be one who seeks and extends your peace instead. PRAYER: Dear Lord, keep me from philoneikia. QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Are there times when you have been a strife-lover? When? Why? How can you become one who seeks the peace of God in your relationships? With a vision of God’s peace before us, there is no room for self-satisfied strife-loving in the community of Jesus. We’re to turn the other cheek and walk the second mile. But, in general, we who follow Christ are to be peacemakers. To be sure, there are times when we need to stand up for what is true, times when we have no option besides strife. It energizes him and gives him a sense of his own self-righteousness. But I also think there is something in his spirit that thrives on conflict. But, the truth is, my friend likes a good argument. Yes, some of this has not been his fault. He has had more fights with his church members than any other pastor I know personally. They were, at least in this setting, what could be described as “strife-lovers.” In classical Greek, philoneikia meant “love of strife” or “contentiousness.” The word combines the Greek word philos, meaning “friend” or “lover” with the word neikos (or neikia ) which means “quarrel, strife, feud.” By using philoneikia, Luke not only describes the facts-the disciples were -arguing but also shows us something of their spirits. Our translation says that the disciples of Jesus “began to argue among themselves.” The original language reads more literally, “And then a philoneikia happened among them.” Philoneikia can be translated as “argument” or “dispute.” But the word suggests something more than a contest of ideas. Such is the case with a word in Luke 22:24. Some of these surprising words turn out to be provocative. I’m afraid the last thirty years have stolen some of my graduate school Greek vocabulary from my brain. Yet, every now and then, I come upon a word that I can’t remember seeing before. This means that I have read every word in the Greek New Testament at least once. This was necessary preparation for my oral Greek exam, in which I would be asked to translate any New Testament passage on the spot, without access to a lexicon or other tools. When I was in graduate school, I had to read through the entire New Testament in Greek. Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Learning From the Psalms How to Pray Through Your Work. ![]()
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