“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”
(Proverbs 17:1, 9)
This morning I listened to Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen discuss the tense situation with North Korea. He commented, “This leader creates instability.” Pierced by this short, yet succinct observation, I thought, “And we all know who is behind instability—Satan himself.” He hates stability.
Having just finished reading and studying C. S. Lewis’s profound, incredibly insightful expose, “The Screwtape Letters,” I am reminded of the very subtle manner of Satan. Screwtape, the Sr. Devil, writes to his cohort, Wormwood, “When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are almost unendurably irritating to the other. Work on that. Bring fully into the consciousness of your patient that particular lift of his mother’s eyebrows which he learned to dislike in the nursery, and let him think how much he dislikes it.”
I can’t believe how Lewis nailed this one. Just hours ago, as I walked the aisles of Harris Teeter, in search of cloves (smile), I listened to a mother and daughter banter over events that happened last Thanksgiving. Much like a game of ping pong, their verbal sparring went back and forth—with sharp tones and condescending glances. The mother insisted that “so and so” didn’t like “such and such” but the daughter insisted otherwise. I resisted shouting, “Who cares? Is that really important?”
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A time to gather, greet, gobble, and give thanks. More often than not, holiday gatherings can be a playground for the devil. So, on this Thanksgiving Eve, my prayer is that we can all put Proverbs 17: 1, 9 into practice. Let’s reread it again in order to really let it sink in:
“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”
(Proverbs 17:1, 9)
We will have “houses full of feasting” but they don’t have to be full of strife. Verse 9 instructs, “foster love.” To foster means to nurture, promote growth, and support. So, let’s put this into practice and have houses full of love. True love, as defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV):
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.