The Doorpost: May the season give you renewed joy

By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.
Proverbs 13:10

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:3-5

Have you ever had a disagreement with someone that turned into a fight or a broken relationship? Maybe you’ve been in a church that split sometime in your past. Or perhaps there’s a brother or sister in the Lord that you just can’t seem to get along with.

Having been a sinner my whole life, I’ve seen a lot of what this verse calls “strife.” As I grow in grace, God is teaching me something that I didn’t want to know. “Strife comes only by pride.” My pride. As I look back at the strife I have had in my life, when there has been contention between me and another member of the body of Christ, I can say one thing for certain. Even when I was right, it was my pride that caused the real problem, not the original disagreement.

These verses have been on the forefront of my mind lately. I’ve seen problems brewing around me, and God has convicted me that I need to see where I am the cause of the problem, where the plank is in my eye. It is easy for you and me to see the sin of others, but we often miss that glaring sin in our own lives.

Christmas is a time for family reunions. In many cases family reunions bring to the surface those old, unresolved problems that are caused by our pride. I urge you this year to consider how you might lay down your pride and be “clothed in humility” (1 Peter 5:5) in order that these old, festering problems might be solved. Ask God to show you where your sin is causing problems, and seek true reconciliation with those from whom you’ve been estranged.

Problems are given to us as a gift from God in order that we might find the solution. May this Christmas season bring to you a renewed joy in Christ as you see the power of His Spirit in the healing of relational difficulties. Like a cloud of dust behind an old Ford Pickup on a country road, troubles unavoidably follow sinners like you and me. Problems cannot be completely avoided, but they can be solved. May this joyous season not pass without you seeing God’s solutions in your life.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!