Well, Oh Yeah?

Proverbs 20:3 (KJV) It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

As I started reading through this chapter in Proverbs, I came to this verse and it jumped out at me.  The reason it jumped out is because I have a tendency to enjoy a good argument and want to win.  This can be with friends, arguing theology, or with my wife discussing cleaning the kitchen.  It has many forms and even more applications.

It is so easy to think that, because I am right, I should win the argument.  We don’t like to think of it as an argument, or as the KJV calls it, strife, but how else would you describe it?  To misquote, Shakespeare,

“A rose by any other name, be it oh so sweet, it’s still a Rose.”

Since the thing that hit me in the face was the translation, or rather paraphrase, of the NLT I might as well print that out.

Proverbs 20:3 (NLT) Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

So?  I should insist on listening and understanding rather than quarreling.  God have mercy on my soul.