QUIET TIME !!
CONTENTION
Dag Heward-Mills
READ: Proverbs 28:25-26
Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
Proverbs 13:10
A proud look is an attitude that exudes arrogance. A person with a proud look has an attitude that you feel in all your interaction with him. For instance, you may send him a text message or an email but he would not reply even though he knew you were waiting for a reply. You would call him but he would not respond to your calls or he would respond so much later. You would get a sense that your communication to him was not important to him. A humble person would call back immediately and apologise for missing the call.
A proud look is a posture that communicates pride and generates contention. The presence of this invisible evil is best revealed by the presence of contention. Quarrelling and contention, bitterness and unforgiveness are the best signs of the presence of pride. A lofty presence always brings conflict! “He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife...” (Proverbs 28:25).
Contention is a sign of pride because contention or fighting only occurs between two parties who see themselves as equally matched or almost equally matched. When a person sees himself as a junior or a subordinate, he would rarely engage in any kind of conflict. Therefore, congregants rarely quarrel with their pastors. Pupils rarely quarrel with their teachers. Secretaries rarely quarrel with their bosses. Employees rarely have any form of open contention with their employers. However, when the junior party begins to feel “big”, contention and quarrels begin. Only by pride cometh contention!
Comments
Post a Comment