If you can recognize strife when it happens (that "hurt feeling" feeling) and understand things that causes stress, then you can begin to find ways to keep strife out of your life.
This verse from Proverbs literally changed our lives. Turned us upside down and inside out. All for the better.
Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife.
A peaceful dry crust is better than feasting with strife. How can that possibly be? It is better to be poor and peaceful than have lots of stuff and be angry?
I just thought we were supposed to have lots of stuff and then figure out how not to be angry. Isn't what the commercials show? Happy people shopping? How can being poor make you happy?
Lee and I fought so much at the beginning of our married life. I knew we had stuff, not fancy but we had two incomes, one child. We could afford to spend a little. But we were so very unhappy. And then I read that verse.
Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife.
Could our life be happier with less? We decided it was worth a try. What we both really wanted was for me to be a homemaker. The outside job part was making us both miserable and in turn our whole life was in a shambles.
For me taking the "dry crust" happened to mean giving up my corporate life. Our life hasn't been perfect since then, but it is like we've stepped out of the fire. I'd be lying if I didn't say right now, and every moment of my day, even our "dry crusts" ain't that bad. And the proverb is true, even our dry crusts are better than any day we had feasting and angry.
The key in this verse to avoiding strife, is to discover what is most important to you and then MAKE THAT the most important thing in your life. Even if you have to eat crackers.
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