By Judith Cooley-
“For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” (Proverbs 30:33)
There are some things in life that have a direct casual relationship, a cause and effect relationship. The verse above clearly depicts the only outcome for stirring up anger- strife. Strife is synonymous with unrest, controversy, bickering, dissension, friction, and hostility. Don’t we see these qualities or moods being fostered in extraordinary measure today? Do we ask ourselves, am I contributing to this model?
Media, politics, and social media are just a few entities responsible for ampping up strife. At the root of all strife is the hurting heart of people. People have their own views, morals, standards, hopes, and hang-ups. The Bible is packed with verses encouraging and urging us to seek peace with our fellow man because our inclination is to stir up anger.
They say, “misery loves company”. When people are angry, they are miserable, so naturally they seek others to join in and justify their frustration. This behavior leads to strife. When we are angry, the last thing we should do is start talking about it to everyone who will listen. The only one who needs to hear of our frustration is God. That is much easier said than done. It’s the complete opposite of what we want to do, yet it’s the most effective solution, and it’s what God wants us to do.
I’ve seen this happen time and again in my own life. I get mad and try to rile a confidant for my cause, and it works. But the problem is, what “works” is really the two of us fostering a broken human model that leads to strife. The model of get angry and get others angry with us is simply flawed.
Sometimes things will happen that make us angry, and there is just nothing to be done about it, in our power. We have the head knowledge that God will judge all things according to His perfect standards, but, in the meantime, we struggle to bear the frustrations, yet there is power through His grace.
Misery does indeed love company, but God loves unity and mercy and grace. God longs for all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that can’t happen if we are bent on causing friction due to an earthly slight.
God is the best friend we will ever have. When we take our frustrations to Him, He will always lead us to unity. When we get angry, we must resist the urge to rile up our comrades because they will take up our cause which leads to strife.
As those who are ransomed by His blood, it is imperative that we break the mold of anger. We have to be the voice of grace, the point of peace, and the model of self-control. We have great power in the way we react to things, power to change the course from bickering, unrest, and hostility towards civility and mercy. Let be said of the children of God that they are the peace makers, they believed in the justice of their God.
“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” (Proverbs 10:12)