Let’s admit it. Some people are just strife-prone!
God says the entrance of His Word brings Light (spiritual insight/enlightenment). But what if that Light is rejected in favor of stressful
strife? What happens when the Spirits of Grace, Peace and Harmony are
resolutely dismissed, and the dark spirits of offense and strife are
continually invited in? It doesn’t take a sharp mind (spiritual or carnal) to
recognize strife. It does, however, take a spiritually
perceptive mind, ear and eye to recognize the spirit of strife.
God asks, Can two walk
together, unless they are agreed? (Amos
3:3) This does not necessarily mean agreement on every point, but it does
suggest maintaining a spirit of mutual respect and peaceful harmony even on
points of disagreement. Repeated, escalating bouts of disharmony, rejecting The
Light of The Word of God, calls for tactics that, on the surface, may not appear to be love, per 1 Corinthians 13, The Bible’s ‘Love’ chapter, but are love
indeed.
In a couple of extreme situations, Paul admonished believers to ‘…turn someone over to satan’. (1
Corinthians 5:5, 1 Timothy 1:20) wOw, this sounds and is
quite heavy! God says He turns persistently rebellious people over to their reprobate
(depraved, incorrigible) minds and wills, influenced
by satan. (Romans 1:28) While the contextual details of these references
may be significantly different, the underlying concept remains. Since The Bible
is iteratively consistent in its urgings for us to avoid devilish strife, as it
opens spiritual doors to everything evil (James 3:16), does this
tactic apply in persistently strifeful situations??
Admittedly, ‘turning someone over to satan’ is tough to do in The
Spirit of Love. It requires much prayer, pulling back to carefully examine
strife-ridden situations to ascertain our
own contributions, and repentance where/when indicated; and searching The
Word of God for clarity, instruction, direction, and Grace to apply (follow
through on) what you ‘hear’ from God. After doing this iteratively, however,
without the restoration of peaceful harmony, I believe it’s time to ‘exit right’ -- leave,
eject yourself from the opportunity of deepening strife. Treat strife like the
mean devil that it is; like a big, poisonous snake striking from a tightly
curled up position. Both for self-preservation and for love of the person who
repeatedly opens the door to strife, prayerfully find effective ways to
absent yourself from strife-ridden people and environments. This is clearly
Biblical. To remain only invites more
strife, and the risk that you, too, may become spiritually blinded and ensnared by
‘what’s really going on’,
spiritually.
People are not our enemy, though they clearly
appear to be because our real, common enemies -- demonic, oppressing spirits,
to whom people yield themselves, are invisible. As carnally minded people, we
either do not receive, or staunchly refuse spiritual insight. Thus we are
iteratively ensnared by satan’s traps.
Interestingly, The Bible indicates pride is present
wherever there is strife. (Proverbs 13:10) Could pride possibly even be the root of the fruit of strife? ‘I” is the middle letter of the word,
pride, intimating a clear focus on a person’s own positions, ideas
and will, even to the total disrespect of others’ and even God’s.
It takes the Spirits of Grace and Humility to recognize and avoid
strife, even if it means turning strife-prone people over to their chosen
destructive ways, and minimizing or even avoiding contact. A strife-prone
person will likely view this as yet an opportunity for deepening strife, rather
than as an act of Grace.
Consider how easier it is to avoid fire than strife.
While fire requires three elements (fuel, oxygen and heat), strife requires four
things, two of which are spiritual/unseen, yet have clear physical footprints:
- The hidden/concealed ‘root of pride’
- The hidden/concealed, oppressive ‘heat’ of satan and his minions
- A prideful, spiritually-blinded/deaf person to initiate disharmony
- Another prideful, spiritually-blinded/deaf person to become offended, respond inappropriately, and thereby escalate the situation
If disagreeing inharmoniously escalates strife, would simply
agreeing de-escalate it? After all, the same Bible that says avoid strife also
says agree quickly with your adversary. (Matthew 5:25) Is such to be honest or feigned agreement just for the sake of
promoting harmony? Of course not, since feigned agreement would only
trigger internal disharmony (strife) between your mind and spirit, i.e., a
divided heart. Agreeing/settling with your adversary must be within the
framework of a higher law, namely the respect of God’s will, and your need for
inner peace.
Avoiding strife, easier said...than
done?
