We were told as children and youth that we should walk away from people wanting to pick a verbal or physical fight.
Most times, we did.
But sometimes, we didn’t.
Yes, I know that the movies and the lunchroom boastings tend to embellish the facts in terms of our success at “taking care of business.”
The reality, though, is that choosing to quarrel — or worse — rarely shaped us into better people.
Actually, we probably ended up with unwelcomed memories because of our choices.
Even if we were still standing after the conflict.
Jesus dealt with thousands of people during His earthly life. Yet, there’s not one example in the Bible of Him yelling or insulting or hitting somebody in the midst of a quarrel.
He knew the truth of Proverbs 20:3 and practiced it perfectly.
“Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.” (Proverbs 20:3)
We all face times when insults or other forms of harm come against us and our natural desire is to fight fire with fire.
We might impress others with the sharpness of our tongues or the toughness of our skin or the quickness of our minds.
But we won’t impress God and we won’t influence our adversary closer toward Christ.
We’ll probably be acting fleshly and foolishly and those are never good things.
Please, pray that I remember that the Christian walk includes times of walking away.
And please pray that you remember the same.
As always, I love you
Martin
