A Thought For The Week Of April 29

"It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels, but fools love to pick fights." (Proverbs 20:3, The Message) The Book of Proverbs is full of little nuggets of wisdom. It's a shame we don't make more use of it, actually, because the life lessons are pretty good ones. I really like what Eugene Peterson has done with this verse in The Message, for example. I think he's getting to the heart of what's being talked about. Getting into disagreements or conflicts is not a bad thing in and of itself. In a way that's actually positive. If you disagree and have conflict it means that there's something you believe in, something that you care about, something that you're willing to take a stand for. That's an honourable thing to do, in my opinion. Sometimes, perhaps, in the hopes of not causing offence, we choose to stand for nothing. That doesn't make us inoffensive. It just makes us bland and boring. Standing for something may lead to conflict, but conflict can be talked out and can be a growing edge for everyone involved. But Eugene Peterson understands what the author of Proverbs meant. If some people go out of their way to avoid disagreement, and by doing so become simply dull, others go out of their way to take issue with every little thing. They argue every point. It doesn't matter how minor the issues are - they have to have their way. That's both immature and foolish. That's what the verse is saying. Don't go out of your way to pick fights over every little thing. By all means, there are times when you have to take a stand, when you have to disagree, when you have to stand out and maybe when you'll even cause offence to someone by doing so. Some things are important enough to risk that. But not everything. Simply picking fights with everyone over everything is foolish, and gives no honour to Christ. So, this week, figure out what's really important to you. Take a stand on those things if you must. But also figure out what doesn't really matter all that much - and let it go. After all, fighting over things that don't really matter is what fools do! Have a great week!