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Prevention Is the Key (2/2/2025)

Joe Norton

“The beginning of strife is like releasing water;

Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts” (Proverbs 17:14).

 

The preacher here uses a simile to teach a lesson about strife and contention—a simile draws a comparison between two different things with the use of “like” or “as.” “Strife” is different from “releasing water,” but comparing the two illustrates an important point.

 

In Palestine, cities and villages had reservoirs of water from which the inhabitants could draw water or channel it over to a convenient place. A breach anywhere in the containment wall, even if only a trickle at first, could become a dangerously large breach if left unaddressed and risk losing the entire water supply.

 

So it is with small disagreements:  uncontained, they can quickly grow into situations that were never intended. They can become “strife,” that is a larger conflict, a disagreement, or a major dispute. “Contention” is heated discussion. Solomon is saying “nip a quarrel in the bud”—put a stop to it before it escalates.

 

What a practical lesson that, when heeded, can make our lives [NH1] more peaceful and our relationships more productive. An argument can usually be contained easily when cool heads step forward to diffuse a situation before it becomes heated—in that case, everyone wins and damaging breaches in relationships are prevented. As well, God is pleased.


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