CONTENTION WITHIN
Scripture Reading - Proverbs 13:10 KJV
Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
We are taught to avoid “Contention” because it is harmful to relationships between people. In our previous lesson we spoke about verbal “contention” through words spoken against another person. Those words spoken could be between people close to you like a family member or people you know on a professional basis like co-workers or just anyone you have conversation with. In this lesson we bring to light the subject of “Contention Within”. “Contention Within” is when we rehearse the words of strife in our heart on a repeated basis. The reason we (ihlcc) bring this up is because many times (quite often) the evil one will replay the words of “contention” previously spoken by another to frustrate our peace. The enemy of our soul delights in strife, debate and discord. Yes, he will even attempt to replay troubling words of people who you don’t even personally know just to upset you. This is why we (ihlcc) don’t recommend watching too much politics because they often display discord (contention) between the two primary political parties. Likewise, watching too much bad news in the media will sour your soul (mind) from joy and peace. Surely, there are millions upon millions of people in the earth today that have various viewpoints. Yes, there are even people who have died and are now stationed in their spiritual place for eternity, whether Heaven or Hell that think differently than you do. The point is with so many people in the earth and so many people who have passed on we would be foolish to think that everyone will agree with each other. No, quite the contrary exists, people often disagree with each other and argue their points to the detriment of relationships. Since you are fearfully (awesomely) and wonderfully (genius) made there has to be uniqueness in every person created by God. Just like every fingerprint is different we can expect that every person has a unique personality that expresses itself a little differently than yourself. Since we are children of Light it is easy to understand that disagreement is a part of our everyday life, with that being said, it would be unwise to fester (harbor) ill feeling about the words of others you disagree with. Yes, dear child of God don’t listen to negative words inside your heart that create “contention within”. If you know you disagree with someone (yes, even the devil) don’t try to figure out why they think the way they do. Don’t yield to human reasoning that rehearses over and over words of strife which is “Contention Within”. The key is knowing what you believe and rejoicing in that knowledge. If you are not sure of what you believe then please do more study of God’s Word to bring a confident knowing or reassurance of a more accurate knowledge of God’s Word. This also works for all things requiring more knowledge whether it is cooking knowledge, political knowledge, career knowledge or people knowledge of someone you are thinking about. Just relax and pursue God’s Peace as your prize in life to keep you focused on God’s goodness and joy. According to Psalm 119:165 we should have great peace because we love God’s Word, so great that nothing will offend us. It does us no good whatsoever to meditate upon the wrong things that stirrup anger, frustration and negative feeling. Words within are basically just spiritual thoughts trying to capture your attention. So be wise God’s beloved by understanding that pride thinks too highly of itself by spending too much time and energy on what someone did to me and/or what someone said to me that wasn’t right. Since you can never take back what someone else said or did the best thing you can do is ignore their negative comments or forgive them inwardly for acting or speaking in an ungodly manner. As Christians we all know that God loves all people and for that reason alone we must love all people too, which includes not being offended by them. Thinking about God’s Love for us and our love for Him keeps us away from “Contention Within” unto the Glory and Praise of our Heaven Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!