It is quick to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to
quarrel. – Proverbs 20:3
It’s easy to quarrel, isn’t it? Someone says something to you or about you
that you find intolerable, and a quarrel ensues. Someone says something and you
take it the wrong way, and soon the two of you may be quarreling.
A “fool is quick to quarrel.” The emphasis here is on the word “quick.” A
fool is a person whose first impulse is to quarrel. It is a fool whose fists
clinch before his or her heart opens wider.
And what is a “fool”? The answer has nothing to do with intelligence. It
has to do with faith. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm
14:1). But such a fool may not be a blatant atheist. Such a fool simply acts as
if God doesn’t matter to him or her. The fool reasons that if God doesn’t get
involved with us, we must take care of ourselves. Such a person is “quick to
quarrel” because he or she sees no one else to lean on or depend on for
support.
But it is your “honor to avoid strife.” Yes, it’s “your honor.” The truly
honorable thing to do is to make peace, to offer forgiveness, to repay evil
with good. The truly honorable thing to do is make peace, to offer forgiveness,
to repay evil with good. The truly honorable thing is “to avoid strife” and so
treat others as God, in Christ, has treated you. “Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10).
