Monday 11/14
Hey, Can you guess, Why the window needed an aspirin? Well your right, It was in order to relieve a glass pane. ha ha What a pane that can be.
Prov. 25:9,10 “When arguing with your neighbor, don’t betray another persons secret. Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation.”
This second warning is telling us the benefit of going to our neighbor directly, not through legal means. For going through legal means risks exposing other situations that have been misunderstood, and putting your reputation in a bad light. Maybe to be seen as a gossip, or maybe even as an over sensitive petty person.
This wisdom verse is confirmed by Jesus’ in Matt. 18:15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.”
The primary principle spoken of in both of these instances is; Strive to deal with a personal matters in private is the wisest approach. Two reasons are given 1) in the Matthew incident the conflict is cleared up & the brother‘s friendship is won back, 2) dealing with a private matter in public potentially exposes other unknown conflicts in the process & at the same time harming your reputation.
Both of these instances point out the benefit of appealing to our neighbor directly. In this day of law suits over minor matters, the Bibles position stands in stark contrast. In other words, treat one another like trusted friends, rather than like bitter enemies. Notice the contrasting comparison, friendships strengthened, compared to broken relationships & ill will spread to all others involved.
So Go With God and His wisdom then comes blessing, strong friendships, unity for all. We look about us and see turmoil, anger, & heart ache. Now we see the reason for the level of conflict in our age. The considered wise rational of our day is that bringing into public differences that could easily be handled in private. Then this being brought to the public of a private matter, which results in many people being harmed and most importantly harm to the name of Christ.
I remember as a child being sick one day and so I failed to ride the fence that night; and some cows got out & ate the neighboring farmers growing wheat. The neighbor was a hateful man & was always looking for conflict. Rather than talking to my uncle about this he just ran the cows into the road between the two fields, and then complained to his other neighbors who by the way were believers.
The next day I saw the cows in the road with my uncles brand, so I wrangled them back into our field & repaired the fence. Then I told my dad about the incident. My uncle found out the damage his cows had done & went to the farmer and ask him how much were the damages, he told my uncle more than was really the damages, but my uncle graciously gave him a small plot of his wheat on his farm.
I remember my uncle Leonard talking to me, I apologized for being sick and not catching the break in the fence, he said “it’s all God‘s crop anyway, Benie“. That harvest time all the farmers helped in the harvest. When we came to the posts that I had put in to mark our neighbors crop, all the farmers were curious about this. My uncle had them put that plots harvest in a separate trailer for us to haul to our neighbor. The same neighbors that the farmer had complained to.
When we were were delivering the trailer of harvested wheat to the disgruntled farmer, my uncle told me how the local FFA had told him to plow under the acre that he had given away, but Uncle Leonard explained that this was his neighbors plot.
So he had given away a crop that he would have had to plow under. We both laughed, when arriving to drop off the wheat for the neighbor, his mouth dropped, and he said no that area had failed to produce but Uncle L. said no a promise was made, so here is your crop.
That incident caused the angry farmer to realize he could be friends with my Uncle and for the coming years he & uncle L. We’re harvest partners. Privately handling conflict won out over anger & brought about a deep friendship for many years.