When I was a kid, we had this huge trench like river flowing through our front yard. And since I am from Louisiana, my front yard river always had water. I loved when it rained because it would be rushing water down at the bottom of my front yard. I spent countless hours playing in my yard river. One of my favorite activities was attempting to dam the water or change its flow with rocks and sticks. I can’t tell you how much fun I had. But anyway, almost always, especially if the water was rushing, my levees sprung a link and eventually gave way. I quickly found out – it is incredibly hard to stop rushing water.
Anger and strike is like that water. When we left it build up and simmer, it becomes a rushing water way with mounting pressure. All it takes is for one small crack in our carefully constructed dam for the whole thing to break.
This is exactly how Solomon describes the relationship between strife and quarreling. Just a little anger, disagreements, or strife can break our entire peace levee. If we allow our dam to begin leaking, it won’t be long before the whole thing collapses and our strife leads to conflict and quarreling and fighting and angry harsh spoken words.
How does this happen? Solomon tells us. If we hold on to our bitterness or disagreements, it will build up so much pressure inside of us that our dam springs a leak and we start to express and act on our feelings. Once we do that, once we neglect our levee long enough that it starts leaking and the water breaks out, it is incredibly difficult to stop the damage. Our breaking levee will inflict damage on us and others.
So, how to do prevent this. Solomon says it’s simple. Let it go. Quit. Move on. If you hold on to hard feelings and disagreements, it will lead to quarreling because your dam will spring a leak due the pressure mounting against it. Once the water is let out, you can’t put that exact water back in. It’s gone.
So, when we get frustrated, annoyed, and we are wronged. Solomon says to quit. Quit letting those feelings build up in our minds and hearts. The levee controlling our tongues won’t last if we allow pressure to push on it and cracks to form. We’ve got to let those things go so we can keep our levee strong and intact.
Let go of the strife, anger, and disagreements you feel. Don’t let them fester. But also, don’t ignore them. Deal with them appropriately and then move on. Quit letting them mount.
Don’t let your levee controlling your mind and heart break.
Adonai's Appeal 