Proverbs 26:20-21, CEB – Without wood a fire goes out; without gossips, conflict calms down.
Like adding charcoal to embers or wood to fire, quarrelsome people kindle strife.
When I was growing up, we had a fireplace. I learned over time how to tend a fire and unlike other chores assigned to me, I always liked feeding the fire. I used to experiment with log size and placement to see the best way to build what my Dad called a “rip-roaring fire.” I loved watching the flames embrace a new addition and use it as fuel to grow bigger. I also loved listening to the pops and crackles the growing fire would make.
Way too often, people intentionally and unintentionally feed a growing conflict. Jumping in and taking a side is like adding some fuel-filled kindling to fire already underway. Gossiping about the conflict multiplies the fire-expanding effect. In a very real way, conflict is a fire and like other fires, it needs fuel to continue. The set of proverbs above point us toward this truth with the implied wisdom that conflicts, especially divisive ones, should not be fed.
It calls to mind an old well-known story quoted below:
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
It’s a simple principle, but simple doesn’t equate to easy. It is so easy to get drawn into a conflict when it would be better to abstain. Actually refusing to participate in gossip is much harder than saying you will not participate. Negativity is contagious and tempting at times. Our efforts to resist it are strengthened by deciding beforehand, that when it happens (and it will), you will not engage or be a part in expanding needless conflict and all gossip.
Question: Will you decide right now, that when the opportunity comes, you will not be party to expanding negativity in your family, circle of friends, and other communities of which you are a part?
Prayer: Lord, give us vision to see the positive that we can add to and build on vs. the negativity that so often gets out of control.
Prayer Focus: Pray for people who are having trouble making financial ends meet right now.
Song: Fall Out Boy – We Didn’t Start the Fire (updated remake of Billy Joel’s classic)
Particularly connected to what we were talking about is the refrain:
“We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it, but we’re trying to fight it”
Weekday Word w/ Eric 
Leave a comment