Thursday Reading: Proverbs 17:14
Key Verse: Proverbs 17:14
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water; therefore leave off fighting, before it breaks out.
Devotion:
When I was just a sprat I used to go out into the rain to make dam walls from the water that used to run down driveways and ditches. My friends and I would meet up at the corner of the road (no need to call, we just knew) and we would build dams as big as we could to catch as much water as possible before the rain would stop. The problem was that we would always be fighting a losing battle against the water. Just when we had enough to stop the water a little trickle would appear within the mud wall (only 6 inches high) and within a few seconds that would widen into a torrent unless we were in time to plug it up. Just that first trickle would eat away at the mud until it was a stream, then that would break away more mud and away the water would flow.
Our lives are compared to that here in this proverb; just a small word in anger or a small action done in jest can quite quickly break away at everything until there is a mess left behind. Just one small action which we do not think much of can be a bigger problem for someone else who in turn talks about it as if it were a much larger problem. They then get the picture of a huge problem caused by us. Their actions could then expand on that so that before long we are seen as the villains!
It’s those types of situations that we need to be able to avoid to start with; but avoiding everything in life is not possible. Being able to plug those holes as soon as they appear is the next best thing. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away but will cause a bigger gap to grow. We have to first admit that there is a problem and that we need to do something about it. Doing something about it then becomes the best way forward. It does not matter that people see you having to cover up the hole because they will see that you are doing something about it. If you were the cause of that hole then you must admit to it and not just try and cover it up. God looks for honesty and integrity in each of us because that can begin to reflect Him through us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you are fighting a losing battle?
Are you asking God’s advice?
