Meddle Class Morality

(Proverbs 26:17 KJV)  He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

There are two key verbs in this verse.  It is the combination that shows us to be a sluggard.  The first is “passes by” (5674a) and the second is “meddles” (5674b).  Notice the two numbers associated with them.  As far as I can tell they are the same word but they had different meanings to the Hebrews.  It would be similar to us asking “Can you can the fruit before it goes bad?”  The word “can” is the same but has different meanings.  In the Hebrew they seem to be written the same and sound the same but come from different roots.

We can’t help passing by “strife” (7379).  It happens all around us.  The advice here is to pass on by.  We get into trouble when we meddle.  This word is defined as “to be arrogant, become angry.”  Meddling means getting involved emotionally.  In this case it means getting involved emotionally in things that really are none of your business.  It means thinking that you have the answers when you don’t even know the questions.

I thought the key here was staying away from conflict that doesn’t belong to you, but the “belonging” is not in the Greek.  It is much more general than that.

So?  Don’t meddle.  Don’t think that you can solve all problems.  If asked answer but don’t allow yourself to get pulled into taking sides and becoming the focus of the problem.