I just returned from Bemidji, MN where I performed the funeral of my father-in-law. On our drive south, we went through Iowa, who was experiencing some of the worst flooding in the history of the state. Some roads were closed. Many fields looked liked lakes. I'm not sure they could even have grown rice.
As drove through Des Moines, we noticed that much of the northern part of the city was under water. The efforts of fortifying levees and sandbagging weren't enough to keep the waters back. Along the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers, many towns are experiencing the same disaster. No matter how much effort is put into sandbagging, the rising waters are breaching the make shift dams. Flooding is ruining homes and businesses and lives. Once the dams or levees are breached, there is no holding back the devastation by the pulsing current.
Solomon says that starting an argument is a lot like that. Things that are normally left unsaid often times come spilling out as the quarrel intensifies. The flood gates are open and here she comes. You say one thing and the escalation begins. You think my idea is stupid. I don't like your mother. Things proceed to get very personal. The next thing you know, we find ourselves attacking every ounce of a person's character or behavior. And before the argument is done, hurtful blows have been exchanged and gaping wounds are evident on both parties.
The devastation has been done. There's nothing that can take back what was said or inflicted. Wounds fester. Hearts ache. There's a lot of clean up that has to be done. Life is messy for a while. Sometimes things are never right again.
The best course of action was to never have started the fight in the first place. It's normally better to drop the matter before it gets out of hand, especially if tension are running high at the moment. It's always better to temper your emotions and find a time and place to discuss the matter in a peaceful way. Conflict between people is inevitable. God made us all different. But starting arguments is not the wisest way to resolve your conflict. Someone always gets hurt in an argument.
God, help me to bite my tongue. I don't know why I provoke arguments sometimes. My emotions get the better of me and next thing you know I find myself in mortal verbal combat. The dam is breached and here it comes, the full force of disdain, frustration and anger. I need your spirit to intervene in those moments, to slow my mouth down, and temper my spirit.
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