A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.—Proverbs 15:18

Strife is stifling because it creates an immediate barrier between the parties involved; nothing positive is flowing through and neither side is able to hear the other. Obviously it is tangible because it can be felt and recurring because it keeps on coming. Strife negatively influences your decision making and frustrates your emotions. Recall a situation in which you are currently dealing or have dealt with strife and you will find that the acronym is an accurate portrayal.

If you have been married for any length of time, honeymooners included, you have had opportunities to get into strife. I used marriage, but this applies to all interpersonal relationships. The Blessing of the Lord (Genesis 12:2-3; Deuteronomy 28:1-14) requires us to live strife-free lives. Strife can limit or even bring to a standstill the flow of the Blessing.

And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle….—Genesis 13:7

Here we see an example of strife infiltrating what had been a prosperous business venture for Lot. Originally Abram wasn’t supposed to bring any family members along with him (Genesis 12:2). But since Lot was with his uncle Abram, he prospered. If you study this passage in Genesis 13, you will notice that it is a turning point for both Abram and Lot. Abram took the high road and allowed Lot to choose which way he wanted to go.

And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. —Genesis 13:8-9

Abram employed a key principle here to avoid and eradicate strife. He immediately found the source and severed the relationship. Thus, he continued to walk in the Blessing and Lot didn’t. When we find ourselves in this situation, we should go out of our way to avoid strife. I understand that there may be longtime friendships, business relationships or even relatives involved.  Apply Romans 8:28 to the situation, and make the tough call required to walk in the Blessing.

“But Shontta, I’m in strife with my spouse and children,” you might say. “Am I to sever those relationships?”  If there are no threats to your life or physical safety, you should seek out the source strife, expose it and work through it. Otherwise, seek professional help immediately. Once again, I’d like to show you how these blessing blockers affect your physical body.

Marital conflict can boost proinflammatory cytokines in the bloodstream and slow wound healing. These results add to the growing evidence that marital strife can impair both mental and physical health. While many studies have demonstrated the benefits of marriage in terms of promoting physical and mental health, what happens to couples who engage in verbal spats and power plays for years, maybe decades? One study, for example, found that unhappily married subjects were 25 times more likely to experience a major depressive disorder than were happily married ones. Another found that among women with coronary heart disease, marital stress worsened their prognosis threefold. And now a new study, published in the December 2005 Archives of General Psychiatry, has found that marital bickering can raise, in the bloodstream, levels of proinflammatory cytokines—that is, the kind of cytokines that sabotages healing instead of promoting it. *

STRIFE is tangible and it is obvious here that it penetrates and negatively works against your mind and your physical body. Don’t lose your life (John 10:10). Confront STRIFE with the Word and, if necessary, professional help. Keep the Blessing flowing. I am totally out of space. I trust you were enlightened and are now hungry to learn more on this topic.

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

—Shontta

*Marital Strife May Keep Wounds from Healing by Joan Arehart-Treichel http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/41/3/22

While discussing these Blessing blockers, I am attempting to give a thorough but brief synopsis of basic material. It is my hope these articles will evoke a desire in you to learn more about each one. Anger is another Blessing blocker and the Word gives clear practical instructions for handling it.

My personal acronym for anger is this—an Antagonistic Negative Guilt-laying Emotional Reaction (ANGER). Antagonism is actively expressed opposition or hostility. Negative means lacking positive quality or disagreeable.Guilt is a feeling of culpability for offenses. Emotional is the state of being dominated by or prone to emotion. And, finally, a reaction is a response to some treatment, situation or stimulus. The emotion of anger embodies all of these traits; and, in order to fulfill the Blessing in our lives, it is imperative that we conquer it. We are, after all, more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). The Bible says in several places that God is slow to anger and rich in love (Exodus 34:6; Nehemiah 9:17 and Psalm 145:8 are a few). Knowing this, I am reminded of Paul telling us to be imitators of God as dearly beloved children (Ephesians 5:1). We cannot be easily angered nor be associated with those who are. Let’s examine some verses.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. —Proverbs 16:32

The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. —Proverbs 19:11

An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.—Proverbs 29:22 

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. —Ecclesiastes 7:9

Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: —Proverbs 22:24

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: —Ephesians 4:31

These are some powerful verses and we can do all things through Christ. You can choose to remove all ANGER from your life. When you do so, you are choosing to live the life of health and abundance promised in Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

Be reminded that yielding to and harboring anger also allows the curse to operate in your physical body. Psychology Today published “The Downside of Anger” and it stated, “It (anger) eats away at your cardiovascular system, your gut and hijacks nervous system, often obliterating the capacity for clear thinking. And it may even grow in intensity.”* How can you possibly walk in the Blessing if this emotion is manifesting itself though you? In a 1990 article in The New York Times entitled “If Anger Ruins Your Day, It Can Shrink Your Life.” The following is a quote from that article:  “Researchers have gathered a wealth of data lately suggesting that chronic anger is so damaging to the body that it ranks with, or even exceeds, cigarette smoking, obesity and a high-fat diet as a powerful risk factor for early death. “Our studies indicate that hostile, suspicious anger is right up there with any other health hazard we know about,” said Dr. Redford Williams, a researcher in behavioral medicine at the Duke University Medical Center.”*

Do not let ANGER and a lack of knowledge destroy you. You can change; as a matter of fact, you can’t come in contact with the Living God and not change. A refusal to do so gives place to the enemy in your life. Use this knowledge as a springboard, and rid yourself of the Blessing blocker ANGER. Don’t give any place to the devil. Let the peace of God rule in your heart so the Blessing can flow freely in your life.

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta

*http://www.psychologytoday.com/ (The Downside of Anger)

*http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7D61731F930A25751C1A966958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all (New York Times)