Owning Our Own Strife

Proverbs is such a great book! It contains so many nuggets of practical and applicable wisdom for almost anything that comes up! Recently I was overly bugged about a problem someone I knew was having. I really wanted to help, but it is so complicated. Then I started thinking about a verse in proverbs, and I knew it applied. The more I turned the verse over in my mind, the more interesting it became. On the surface it seemed to be saying: "Mind your own business or you'll be asking for trouble."

17 He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. Proverbs 26:17

I think there is more to this verse than 'mind your own business'.  When a person has a problem with another person, God is pretty clear that they should straighten it out among themselves. Every person can opt for the joy of resolving difficulties with others with His help. Why should we deprive people of that joy? Yes, I meant joy! Anytime we get to see God walk into a situation and pull off the most amazing resolutions, it is so encouraging!

If two people are too stubborn to resolve their differences, how can anyone else help? That is where the grabbing the dog's ears comes in. Somebody might get bitten.

The key to this proverb is the phrase 'meddling with strife not belonging to him'. We all own our own strife and we have the responsibility of taking care of it. How we take care of things can involve looking at the Word, talking to God about it (prayer) or even inviting someone in to help out especially if one of the quarrelers doesn't care what God thinks. The point is to get to a peaceful solution. For this there needs to be a desire to get it resolved, not to enjoy the fight.