ICS Daily Devotions
Be a Peacemaker at Home!
“Show me a family that has not been fractured-temporarily or permanently – by a fury-filled rift between two or more members and I might believe in miracles. Just about everyone I know seems to have experienced such a distressing event, often with painful psychological and sometimes physical effects that carried over to relatives who had nothing to do with the precipitating dispute. Rifts can begin with financial, religious, political even existential conflicts. Common precipitants include contested wills, disputes over parental care, sibling rivalry and charges of favoritism.” (Jane E. Brody @ The New York Times Dec 7, 2020)
Proverbs 17:1,14,19 (NKJV) Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife….. The beginning of strife is like releasing water; therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts…. He who loves transgression loves strife, and he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.
There is a comparison in this verse where the poor has quietness in the house while the rich has lots of strife among the members of the household despite the ability to have a feast. While not every rich family is full of strife, the Bible does tell us that the love of money is the root of all evil. When there is nothing for us to fight over then there might be peace and quietness, but strife increases when we fight over wealth. There is a tendency to scheme to ensure that we will have a bigger portion of the inheritance in a rich and wealthy family. Unfortunately, animosity develops when there are sibling rivalry over the inheritance, succession planning of the business and decisions that need to be made over the assets even before the passing on of the elders which cause rifts in families.
The devil is a talebearer who goes about whispering into the ears of anyone regarding what the other has done. The problem is his talebearing doesn’t stop at one person but he goes to different people to tell different stories. This is the beginning of contention and quarrels amongst parties. The devil enjoys seeing chaos, disunity, strife and division among siblings! We should not be talebearers as believers in the family neither should we covet what belongs to our parents but allow them to allocate based on their decisions.
Proverbs 26:20 (NKJV) Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
May the Lord grant us wisdom to know how to deal with contentions within the extended family by being peacemakers. It is better to speak openly among members to resolve differences than to allow strife and division to continue. If we are not able to resolve it after an open discussion with members of the family then we should not participate in the strife. It might be wise to keep silent and take time to intercede for the family than to contribute to the chaos. When we refuse to participate in the talebearing, then strife will cease or subside. As believers, we are not lovers of sin, strife or transgression but lovers of peace.
Sermon Series: Peacemaker (2020-12-20)
