Keep the Barrel Clean

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. (James 3:16)

Where strife exists, confusion follows. And where confusion takes root, every evil work has an open door. Strife is a contaminating force that opens your life, your home, your ministry, and your relationships to things that have no right being there.

Think about a barrel of good apples. Every apple in that barrel is sound, healthy, and whole. Now take one rotten apple and drop it in. At first, it looks like one bad apple surrounded by good ones. It is not a big deal. But leave it long enough and go back to that barrel, and what you find is that the rot has spread. Apple by apple, the whole barrel has been compromised. That is exactly how strife works in a circle of people. It does not stay contained to the two people who started it. It moves. It spreads. It touches everyone within range, and before long, what started as a conflict between two people has contaminated an entire family, congregation, or community.

This is precisely why Satan uses strife so aggressively and so consistently. He uses it because it works. It's one of his most effective tools because it gets in the way of believers who would otherwise be walking in clarity, peace, and the manifest will of God. A believer who is praying in the Spirit, renewing their mind, following peace, and standing on the Word is a hard target to hit. But introduce strife into that person's closest relationships and watch what happens. His peace gets disrupted, and the clarity that was building toward God starts to cloud over.

We are called to follow peace in every decision we make. That also applies to how you handle conflict and respond to offense. You cannot follow the peace of God on the inside while living in strife on the outside and expect both to work without consequence. They will not. The strife will eventually win if you let it stay. Pull it out at the root. Stay out of it. Keep your barrel clean.

Practical Application

Take inventory of every significant relationship in your life right now. Is there anywhere that envy, strife, or unresolved conflict has been allowed to stay? Name it honestly before God and take a step toward resolution this week. You do not control what the other person does, but you are responsible for your side of the barrel.

1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Corinthians 14:33