Shut the Door on Strife

“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”

James 3:13-16

As I’ve studied the Scriptures to find the enemies of love, I’ve come to believe there is one that is more insidious and more common than any other. It is the enemy called strife, which means: “vigorous or bitter conflict, discord and antagonism; to quarrel, struggle or clash; competitions; rivalry.”

According to James 3:16, where strife gets in, every other evil work will follow. Strife opens the door to the devil and licenses him to bring confusion and evil into our lives. That’s why he’s always pushing for us to argue with one another and get offended or critical of one another. It gives him access to us!

You see, Satan doesn’t want you

by Gloria Copeland

to enjoy THE BLESSING that is yours in Christ Jesus. He doesn’t want you to be healed, happy and prosperous because, if you are, other people will notice and want the same quality of life you have. They’ll give their hearts to God because of the goodness of God they see in your life.

To keep that from happening, the devil tries to steal THE BLESSING from you. He tries to trick you into opening the door of your life to him by bringing you an opportunity to have conflict with someone. He knows that the moment you step into strife, he can begin to gain mastery over you. The devil wants control of your life, but he can’t have it when you walk in love.

Don’t let him have control. Make a quality decision today to shut the door on strife. Refuse to argue with people. Refuse to fight back when people criticize or wrong you. Determine instead to respond in love—take no account of the evil done to you. When you do mess up and say harsh words, be quick to repent so the devil can’t get a foothold in your life.

I can tell you not only from the Word but from experience, it will be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. It will take effort, but by God’s grace you will be able to do it. It’s a small price to pay for the freedom in THE BLESSING…and you’ll be forever glad you did.