Text: " The Lord hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to him: ... one who stirs up trouble among brothers..." - Proverbs 6:19b
It is hard to imagine what it would be like to live in a world without discord. To be able to live your life without the concern of being misunderstood. To be in harmony of thought and action with others. Such a world would be a reality, if each of us would choose to live within the counsel of this proverb.
Considering our origins, biblically, we find that God created a world that was in harmony with itself and its Creator. "The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created all the wonders of the land and of the sea. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory(Patriarchs & Prophets, page 472).
Since the inception of sin, God has ever worked to effect reconciliation between Himself and His alienated creation and in time, our world will again be a world of splendour. Gone forever will be the blight that sin has left upon His kingdom. The darkness of evil will be replaced with the most beautiful, welcoming light. Fear will be banished from human experience and the entire creation will rejoice in Edenic beauty.
In Genesis 3:14,15, we have the first allusion to the gospel and the remedial work of God that is the basis of our salvation and hope.
After the fall of Adam and Eve, the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
For the christian, the reality of the great controversy between Christ and Satan is undeniable. We truly are in the midst of a relentless battle between good and evil and the world view of the bible has helped me to wrestle with the injustice and inequity that we each experience in this life.
To stir up trouble among brothers is to take a side in the battle that is contrary to the revealed will of God. According to 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, "...all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Furthermore, in Matthew 5:43-45, the Lord offers this counsel, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
The grace of God, His mercy and compassionate response to our sin problem is an example that He would bid us to follow. Be an Ambassador for good today. Reach out and intentionally bring the light of hope and wholeness to someone today. We can make this world a better place as we take action to mend and restore the brokenness that characterizes the life experience of too many of God's people. Enjoy the day and may God's blessing be with you!