Friday... It starts and then it cannot be stopped.

It many times starts with a thought. You're listening to someone tell what they think and a thought goes through your mind that you disagree. You have a different opinion. Now what they are saying isn't really something that is totally wrong but it is different than what you think so you state what you think.

Proverbs 17:14 (AMP) says, "The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam, first it trickles and then it gushes]." The Message says, "The start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam."

Think about the last quarrel that you had with your spouse or your kids, your parents or just a person you didn't really know. Was what they said really that wrong and what you said was really that right? Was it really that important what you said. But you did and it started as a small comment and ended with hurt feelings and a broken relationship. Was it really that important?

The rest of the proverb tells us what to do. Verse 14b (AMP), says, "Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode." The Message says, "So stop it before it bursts."

People are more important than our passing opinion.

Oh God, Please help us to see people as you see them.

Of course, there are some things that we need to take a stand for but in reality there aren't as many as we think. It needs to be done in the right time and in the right way. People matter to God and they need to matter to us. Especially our family and our closest friends and those that God has put in our lives to show what real love is all about. Maybe God wants you to show them what love and acceptance is all about.

Verse 14 in the NLT says, "Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out." We need to put that in our mind each morning before we face our family. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Todays Beginning

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