It occurs to me that man is born for conflict. We just like a fight. I have noticed that when certain subjects come up on blogs, people dive in. Piper asks Rick Warren to come. Someone makes a comment about school preferences. Church polity is debated. A noted leader speaks unadvisedly or quotes a black listed author. The result is a flood of "comments."
Most of the comments are made in ignorance, or out of anger, or spitefully.
I think this is because we like fights. We have argumentative hearts. We enjoy pontificating and passing judgment with next to no facts. We think we know the "real reasons" and know the hearts of men.
Well, whenever I get into a fighting mood, or see a group of believers engaged in contention, or find a blog engaged in strife, I go back to this simple quote from Mark Twain's work: Huckelberry Finn.
It is a very clear discussion between two boys. It is a clear description of conflict and the fruit of hearts filled with conflict.
Did you want to kill him, Buck?
Well I bet I did.What do he do to you?
Him? He never done nothing to me.
Well, then, what did you want to kill him for?
Why, nothing – only its on account of the feud.
What’s a feud?
Why, where was you raised? Don’t you know what a feud is?
Never heard of it before – tell me about it.
Well, says Buck, a feud is this way: A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then that other man’s brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another; then the cousins chip in – and by and by everybody’s killed off, and there ain’t no more feud. But it’s kind of slow, and takes a long time.
Has this one been going on long, Buck?
Well, I should reckon. It started thirty years ago or som’ers along there.
What was the trouble about, Buck – land?
I reckon maybe – I don’t know.
Well, who done the shootin?
Laws, I don’t know. It was so long ago.
Don’t anybody know?
Oh, yes, Pa knows, I reckon, and some of the other old people, but they don’t know what the row was about in the first place.
--Mark Twain
Remind them . . . . to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
(Titus 3:1-5 ESV)
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