Tiny Devotional for Tuesday, 07-20-2021

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, coffee is actually a kind of bean soup.

Avoiding strife is an honor for a person,
But any fool will quarrel.
Proverbs 20:3, NASB

Calm versus chaos

Lately I’ve remembered times in my youth when I acted unkindly, without provocation, toward another. My most recent recollection was from 1971,  making fun of a fellow college freshman because he could not grow a mustache.

The revelation is not that I need to find that guy and apologize (although I AM sorry); it’s that my unneeded, low-level cruelty explains my youthful difficulty in forming meaningful relationships.

That’s the “WHAT;” the “WHY” addresses emotionally poking instead of embracing, and the resolution of THAT issue allows me to make friends today. The core issue is this:

Fools quarrel, and a fool 

1. EITHER has no idea that their own conduct will produce strife (Oblivious), OR

2. They like strife (Antagonistic). 

That statement represents about half of the wisdom I needed during 16+ years as a middle school counselor. What to do with that wisdom is another matter entirely, and I recommend to you, friends and neighbors, that you seek to implement it.

Everyone encounters quarreling fools (if you don’t recognize any in your life, maybe it’s you). Avoiding their conflict brings honor; plus, it feels a LOT better. 

You can’t treat Oblivious and Antagonistic the same, and expect a good outcome. In fact, don’t EXPECT a good outcome, period. Still, it’s worthwhile to attempt a wise correction of the Oblivious, especially with kids. We all started as Oblivious, after all.

If you have an adult Antagonistic as a boss, though, get a new job.


Peace be on your household.

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