Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction. Proverbs 17:19 NIV
Whoever–means anyone–without regard to gender, race, or belief. So anyone who loves a quarrel–will say offensive things to ignite strife, loves sin. And anyone who loves sin, cannot love God for God hates sin.
Anyone who builds a high gate/a wall invites destruction. They encourage unrest and fuel hatred–bringing destruction on themselves and others.
As I reading the 17th chapter of Proverbs, I realized that there is so much that could be discussed about our current political atmosphere, but I chose this one.
If we need to see, reflectively–how The Word–is a blueprint for our lives, understanding The Proverbs is a good place to start. These are are not ancient words that have no bite; in fact they sting when we understand how relevant they are in the 21st Century.
When we speak without thinking–we open the door for strife and offense and in that offense, retaliation is sometimes the response to the offense. That response promotes quarrel and within the quarrel between two or more people or even nations–someone will inevitably commit sin (using profanity or plotting to undermine).
The building of a wall–segregating Mexico from the United States–will do more to cement hatred than keep people from crossing our borders. We need to build bridges to cement relations–of trust and integrity–not walls to fuel hatred and animosity.
There is a gap–of trust and integrity–evidenced in what we see in the political arena which does nothing to inspire relationship-building from within the country or without. If we think we can survive–isolated from all others–we are truly delusional and will fall into the hands of the enemy when no one has our back. We need one another and we should learn to respect one another in order to cement relationships, not cementing hatred. A little common sense is all we need.
Common Sense–a commodity once revered in our society–has taken a leave of absence and no one knows when it will return. And from all the yapping without thinking we see in the political arena, common sense may no longer exist–becoming a relic for those who remember when exercising common sense was more important that proving academic prowess. All the “book-learning” in the world will never equate to the value of exercising common sense in all areas of our lives.
Perhaps, if we really want to see a difference in what happens in our country, we ought to encourage every politician to read the book of Proverbs–with an open mind and a heart willing to see themselves when they’re revealed through The Word.
I’m Mary Hall-Rayford and I approve this message!
maryhallrayford 