The Last Word

Reading for Today: Proverb Chapter 20

Gold Nugget

Verse 3: “It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel.”

Commentary

Have you ever accused or been accused of having to have the last word? Often people will accuse someone else of having to get the last word as a way to get in the last word themselves. The truth is, we seem to relate the last word as the winning word. Walking away from a physical confrontation for guys requires a lot of humility or an equal amount of fear. Walking away out of fear isn’t very noble. Walking away out of wisdom is extremely noble. It is often just as difficult to walk away from a quarrel. When others accuse you it is instinctive to defend yourself, but not always the wisest approach. The world will teach you to defend your name and sometimes it is the right thing to do. However, Jesus said in The Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Even though people will not acknowledge that they are attacking you because of your commitment to Christ, if you are being attacked because of the choices you made as a result of your relationship and commitment to Him, they are attacking you because of Christ. If they go around lying about you and you choose to take the high road by holding your tongue, you will be blessed of God for your self control, humility and obedience. Jesus went on to say in The Sermon on the Mount, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Not every attack is worthy of a defense. Let God fight your battles. If you are innocent and wrongly accused, remember who the Judge is and trust that their accusations can only go as far as He allows. Today’s “gold nugget” says, “It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel.” Don’t worry about getting the last word. It takes more discipline to walk away from a fight, but God is a rewarder to those that obey this principle. Any fool can start a fight, but a wise person will end one.

    

Prayer

Lord, it can be so hard choosing to stay silent as people lie against us, but we know you are in control. Thank you for reminding us of this and giving us the strength to stay faithful. Amen

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