1.30 a.m., and there was loud quarreling from the void deck area below my flat.
In the past I would have been irritated, judgemental or amused. Now I find myself sad. Especially over the past 7 years or so I've learned firsthand what it is like to face provocation by a fool, what the Bible says is a heavier burden than stone or sand.
Proverbs 27:3 (NIV) - Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but provocation by a fool is heavier than both.
It is heartbreaking to realize that someone you geniunely want to resolve conflict with delights in prolonging the strife. You wonder why you hold back the insults and barbs while the other person doesn't, in fact, delights in giving you a double portion...
Psalm 120:6-7 (NIV) - Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
So now my heart goes out to those who have to live with contentious people in their lives, the agents of strife who delight in war when others desire peace. Is there a way out? The Bible says:
Psalm 37:37 (NIV) - Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.
God, bring me to that future you have prepared for me, and not me only, but also those who love peace!
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