The Love Walk vs. Strife?

Strife is diametrically opposite to love.

Strife and striving manifest themselves in hate, anger, bitterness, irritation, disagreement, disagreeableness, wrath, perversity, transgression, contentions, deceit, divisions, quarreling, evil suspicions, disputes, reviling, backbiting, envy, murder, gossip, frustration, angst, selfishness, etc.

Strife, in a nutshell, is an evil spirit destined to sow discord and distance between human beings – pushing them apart physically, emotionally, psychologically, financially, socially, economically, conceptually, etc. Like offense, strife is a temptation from satan and his crew of demons, but it is one we don’t have to accept, but one we so easily accept and digest simply because our spirits and minds are not sharply tuned into the frequency to know when we are operating in strife.

Strife is ushered in by pride, the mother sin.

By pride comes nothing but strife,

but with the well-advised is wisdom. (Proverbs 13:10)

God hates pride and any of its fruit. The wisdom that is with the well-advised is spiritual insight to recognize strife, know when you are operating in its devilish clutches, know how to get out post haste, and know how to help others recognize what this critical lesson so they, too, can get and stay out of its icy cold grip!

Love, on the other hand, seeks to draw human beings together through cooperation, collaboration, joint planning, consideration, forgiveness, generosity, giving, mutually honoring/esteeming/preferring each other, helping, guiding, encouraging, caring for each other, admonishing, building up each other, teaching, instructing, supervising, correcting in love, etc.

Getting off of the love walk and into any situation of strife automatically means getting temporarily off the path of righteousness (Psalm 23), and temporarily getting out of The Secret Place of the Most High and from under His Wing. (Psalm 91)  The big, fat risk of getting out of love is how quickly the curse of the law (Deuteronomy 28, which we voluntarily embrace whenever we turn our backs on walking in love) quickly compounds and widens the gulf between people and us, and God and us.

Key: Faith works through and by love

In order for our faith to work effectively, efficiently and unhindered, we must stay in love and on the well-lit pathway of doing what is right (righteousness). Faith can be hindered, blocked or rendered ineffective when we walk in strife in any area of life. Imagine entering into relationships (personal, business, social, etc.) with people who are inclined to slip easily into, and remain for long periods of time in strife. The bitterness of strife that has engulfed these people will eventually embitter every facet of their life, and will eventually spill over to ruin your life, too.

Strife is a rapidly spreading, metastasizing, spiritual cancer. Treat it like a venomous snake and you’ll have no problem with it.

In Galatians 5:19-23, Paul includes strife in a long list of the works of the flesh. He then he contrasts all of these works with the Fruit of the Spirit. Clearly, strife is positioned as the fruit of the anti-Christ, not the Fruit of the Spirit:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

According to this scripture, operating in strife, to God, is just like practicing witchcraft! Being married to someone who regularly and easily/helplessly falls into and remains for extended periods in strife is, therefore, like being married to a witch or wizard. Prettttttty heavy, but there it is in black and white. This is written to show us the gravity of these things, and how diligently we need to lean on God’s grace power to stay out of it, and to help others to get and stay out of it. 

James 3:16 confirms strife literally opens the flood-gates of hell to allow into our lives every evil thing the devil can throw at us because we are on his territory when operating in strife:

For where envying and strife is, there is

confusion and every evil work.

Solomon and Paul give us the anti-dote for the cancer of strife:

·      A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)

·      Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves. (Philippians 2:3)