Good Afternoon My Friends! My computer is back up and running! My dear friend and spiritual mentor, Elizabeth Bankole, warned me that when we say “Yes” to God, our enemy will attack us. We should not be surprised. We should be alert and ready. I’ll just say he’s been very busy during the last 29 days attacking me. Today, he tried to shut me down by shutting down my computer. Over 300 possible viruses were detected, but praise God, they are all quarantined now. So, here we go: Refrain from Quarreling, Embrace Getting Along!
“Can’t we all just get along?”
“Bite your tongue!”
Perhaps you’ve heard these sayings so many times, they’ve lost their impact. Well, today, God’s bringing back the power and importance of both biting our tongues and getting along as we continue to choose to live intentionally His way.
Refrain from Quarreling
“Sometimes you have to decide which will hurt more: biting your tongue or having your say” – Faydra D. Fields
Amen Faydra! Yes, we do!
We do have a choice. And I know which one God prefers.
God’s pretty adamant about us biting our tongues.
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Phil 2:14, NIV).
So what does God mean by arguing exactly?
Well, to quarrel is to argue about something. Quarreling is an active, verbal argument or a dispute with someone. It’s when we express different opinions about something often angrily.
We’re supposed to do everything without arguing. Everything? Seriously?
How’s that going for you? I’ll admit, I’ve not always bit my tongue and refrained from quarreling with others.
I’ll be honest, there was a time in my life I argued a lot with my husband. Both he and our children can attest to this fact. Of course, he argued right back. These quarrels caused immense pain and hurt and not just for us, but for our children too.
And they never brought us solution or closer together. Never!
They were worthless attempts at closeness and unity.
God tells us to avoid these quarrels.
“Avoid foolish controversies…arguments and quarrels…because these are unprofitable and useless.” (Titus 3:9, NIV).
Yes, they are unprofitable and useless. In fact, my marital arguments caused incredible damage.
Now, all these years later, I know why we bickered and argued so much. God says these come from desires, cravings, and passions for our own pleasure that are going on deep inside each person’s heart and soul.
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1, NIV).
I understand cravings a whole lot more now. If you’ve given up something before during Lent, say chocolate, sugar, alcohol, or Facebook, you probably know what I’m talking about. It’s almost like that craving wants to control you and sometimes we give in and eat that chocolate during Lent. It’s really hard to control our cravings for pleasure.
Just like giving up something for Lent is a sacrifice to say to the world, “I’m honoring God during Lent by sacrificing something important to me.” So is refraining from quarreling.
God want us to not argue so that we’re not to blame. He wants us to be pure and innocent, so that others can’t criticize our behavior.
“So that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (Philippians 2:15, NLT).
God desires for us to intentionally live clean lives so that we shine brightly for Him in this dark world.
Get Along With One Another
We must get along with one another.
“Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction” (1 Corinthians 1:10, HCSB).
I really like how Petersen (The Message) puts it:
“I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.”
I like Petersen’s version because I read grace in those lines. God knows we are born sinners. He also knows we need some help becoming more and more like Him. So He understands we’re going to need to learn how to get along.
I believe this is why the 40 Days of Intentional Living is happening. He’s teaching us day by day how to get along so that we can shine brightly for Him in this dark world.
Practical Application
For the precious 28 days we’ve been learning how to cultivate a life of unity. We’ve been learning that we must be considerate of one another. I don’t need to give you more examples than have already been given, but I will remind you of a few of them to keep in mind so that we can refrain from quarreling and embrace getting along:
- Refrain from Anger, Embrace Compassion
- Refrain from Criticizing, Embrace Complimenting
- Refrain from Grumbling, Embrace Hospitality
- Refrain from Harshness, Embrace Gentleness
- Refrain from Provoking, Embrace Protecting
Now then, let us forge ahead and be gracious to one another today and everyday actually. Let’s really try hard to not argue. Remember, arguments are useless activity.
Blessing for Today
[callout]“May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!” (Romans 15:5-6, MSG).[/callout]
Just for Today
Refrain from Quarreling. Embrace Getting Along!
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