Any fool can pick a fight

It is honourable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel. – Proverbs 20v3

This section of these reflections is not real deep and full of theology for the most part. These are just what the book says they are – proverbs. Despite that they do have teachings and applications for our lives.

Here we have a principle which is easy to forget. A good part of my Christian life was spent is a circle that seemed to partially measure a man’s spirituality by his toughness and his willingness to fight. It started right, with the idea that we need to contend for the faith and fight for the gospel. However, that sort of morphed into a concept that tough guy pastors were men to be admired and respected. Contention spread from biblically contending for the gospel to contending about politics, economics, and even sports!

All this happened despite the fact that one of the qualifications for a pastor is that he be ‘not a brawler.’ He is not the guy who tries to pick a fight. He stands for the gospel and will defend it with his life, but he is not the ‘tough guy’ that grew to be so admired. As we read the word of God we find that meekness is the trait that should be admired and lifted up. This allowed some men to become spiritual bullies who intimidate others into doing everything they way they want it done.

This was most clearly illustrated when I was talking to a fellow pastor one day. He we were talking about another pastor friend who is a very meek, quiet, godly man. The gut I was talking to said something like ‘Yeah, he is a decent guy, but is a bit of a limp wrist.’ Despite the fact that he one of the toughest men I know when it comes to defending the gospel he was criticised because of his meek demeanour.

It is an honourable thing for a man to stop a fight – because any fool can start one.  Do our actions and attitude reflect honour or foolishness?

Any fool can pick a fight…