Don't Quarrel

Don't Quarrel

"Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out."
Proverbs 17:14

Having grown up in Southeastern Kentucky, I had always heard about the feud between the Hatfield's and the McCoy's. This feud reportedly went on for many generations, and many people were supposedly even killed during this time. After several generations the people who were still feuding had forgotten what started the feud, and were still fighting, simply because their ancestor did. So often this kind of quarreling still goes on in our world today, and many times even a simple little disagreement causes people to overreact, say things in haste, and create a wall, and a barrier between them and often someone they love. There is much scripture in the Bible about being able to forgive and forget, when someone may say or do things to hurt us. God wants us to forgive and forget, and not hold a grudge, or try to retaliate in any way, but to drop the subject and go on with our lives. It does not do any good to keep bringing up subjects that we might disagree on with someone, but rather we should agree to disagree and move on. We should never harbor ill feelings about someone because of any disagreement, but we should pray that God will give both of us wisdom and guidance in dealing with any form of disagreement that should arise. The Bible tells us to love our enemies, and that we should pray for them, rather than trying to get back at them. The Bible tells us to turn the other cheek when someone does harm to us. As the scripture above states, we should always drop the matter before a dispute breaks out, and not bring it up again.