Get Rid of Those Boogers (Proverbs 22:10)

Sometimes we just need to clean house to get a fresh start.

"Drive out the scoffer and contention will go out; yes, strife and abuse will cease." Proverbs 22:10, Amplified

That cleaning house sometimes involves ridding ourselves of people we surround ourselves with. This verse reminds me of the Mucinex commercials where these boogers have set up house within the lungs of a person making him miserable. But with a little prompting and coughing and Mucinex, the boogers are forced out giving that person relief for the first time in who knows how long.

The same thing can be said of those persons that we surround ourselves with, the mucus of relationships can bog us down. If we eradicate that from our lives, then we will be freer that before.

No Time for Quarrels (Proverbs 20:3)

Fights and arguments can be started by anyone. It takes the bigger man to walk away.

"It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will be quarreling." Proverbs 20:3, Amplified

An honorable man ceases from strife. Not only the honorable man, but also the wise man. It is definitely within our human nature to fight and argue and quarrel. But the bigger man within can walk away and not become a part of these useless fights.

The foolish man will not walk away because because he does not see nor does he understand that he has that option. The foolish man is looking for the next fix of anything that he can get his hands on. He is looking for a rush of some sort. The foolish man needs a "feeling" to know that he is alive whereas the wise man needs only knowledge that he is alive. There will come a time for strife, but for now we must simply rest in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Results of Sin (Proverbs 17:19)

Shakespeare wrote, "Love is a many splendored thing." But is love really love when it is not pure? Can love be love when it involves sin?

"He who loves strife and is quarrelsome loves transgression and involves himself in guilt; he who raises high his gateway and is boastful and arrogant invites destruction." Proverbs 17:19, Amplified

We will break this verse down in its two parts. If you read the New King James you will find that "strife" and "transgression" are actually switched. It is my belief that in either context the verse remains true to itself. You can either love sin (transgression) and invite strife or you can love strife and invite sin. But it is not even inviting, the Bible says that if you love one then you love the other. So in essence, if one loves sin then he is out of the will of God and therefore strife in inevitable. And in the other instance, if one love strife (which opposes the fruit of the Spirit) then sin is sure to follow. There is a union between the two. If you love one, then you will love the other.

In the second part of the verse, we see pride. The gateway being alluded to here is the gateway to a city where the elders of the city would sit and become judges for quarrels. So what this verse is alluding to is making oneself seem more than what he truly is. After being spared his life, King Hezekiah exalted his own gate Babylonian envoys. He took Berodach-Baladan into the treasure houses of the kingdom. "And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasure - the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory - all that was found among his treasure. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion the Hezekiah did not show them." (Second Kings 20:13, NKJV) You see, Hezekiah was given a death sentence from Isaiah the prophet. After Isaiah had left, Hezekiah lifted his voice to the Lord, and before Isaiah could leave the Lord sent him back into the king. The Lord had granted Hezekiah a longer life. Hezekiah became prideful and arrogant and opened himself to the enemy and Isaiah soon returned to the king with a message of destruction and the captivity of Babylon.

The Dam (Proverbs 17:14)

The Bible compares strife to water in that water can be extremely damaging.

"The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out." Proverbs 17:14, Amplified

Water seeks out its own level. It will seep through any crack it can find in order to find that balance. In doing so, it can destroy whatever is holding it back. It reminds me of the old story of the boy who stuck his finger in the dyke in order to stop the water from destroying his town. Everyone else saw the crack and ignored it. The young boy, however, saw the potential hazard of ignorance.

Water's natural tendency is to erode. Ask any scientist how the Grand Canyon was formed and they will tell you that the Colorado River carved its way through the earth over millions of years because he understands the nature of water. (I want it to be noted that I do not believe that the Grand Canyon was formed this way. I believe in a very young earth and believe that a great cataclysm such as The Flood most likely formed the canyon.)

Strife is exactly like water. A tiny bit can be potentially hazardous to a relationship. If a little is seeping through a crack, what larger body is lurking behind the dam? We are not talking about random acts of violence. There are signs for us to see. The idea is to act and not react. Take the time to place your finger into that hole to stop the flow. Correct the fault before it overtakes you.