Genesis 13:8
“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.”
I find in this verse a statement that seems to be the cry of people today and that statement is, "...Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee...for we be brethren." In the political realm you constantly hear the politicians crying for everyone to get along. Just recently I heard of a squabble going on in a political party over its leader and a radio commentator. Among Fundamentalists I constantly hear people asking why everyone can’t get along. Again, recently I had a conversation with a preacher who was irate that Baptists were fighting each other. He questioned why everyone was fighting and could not get along so the "greater" purpose could be accomplished.
My answer to all of these is found in this verse. The reason why there was strife between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen was that truth was at stake. When you read the following verses you see that Lot and his herdsmen were trying to bring in compromise and Abram was standing for that which he always stood: truth.
When truth is attacked there will always be strife and peace cannot be obtained because there are those of us who believe that standing for truth is very important. Though no one, and I emphasize no one, likes the battles and the fighting that goes on among our ranks, when truth is at stake people must stand up and fight for truth. When a stand is being taken for truth there will always be strife.
As we look further into this story we find that it was Lot who was causing everyone not to get along. It was his stance of compromise that was causing the herdsmen to be at strife. Abram was the one who told Lot they could get along if he would just live right, but it was Lot’s fault that the strife and contention existed because he wanted compromise and not truth. Is it not interesting that the one who tries to bring in compromise is the one calling for peace? Those who want us to compromise what we believe are always the ones who want everyone to get along. It is usually the compromisers who are the ones who complain that everyone needs to get along. This is not always the case, but the majority of the time this is true.
So you wonder why we have strife in our nation's political parties, our churches, among Fundamentalists and even in our homes, the answer is that when truth is attacked those who love truth will stand up and fight for truth and, because of the compromisers actions, strife will exist. Let's be careful not to love peace so much that we let truth die. If strife must exist for the sake of truth being held up, then let's have strife. If we must choose between having peace through compromise or having truth through strife, ALWAYS choose truth. Yes, we don't like strife, but strife will exist whenever truth is attacked.
“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.”
I find in this verse a statement that seems to be the cry of people today and that statement is, "...Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee...for we be brethren." In the political realm you constantly hear the politicians crying for everyone to get along. Just recently I heard of a squabble going on in a political party over its leader and a radio commentator. Among Fundamentalists I constantly hear people asking why everyone can’t get along. Again, recently I had a conversation with a preacher who was irate that Baptists were fighting each other. He questioned why everyone was fighting and could not get along so the "greater" purpose could be accomplished.
My answer to all of these is found in this verse. The reason why there was strife between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen was that truth was at stake. When you read the following verses you see that Lot and his herdsmen were trying to bring in compromise and Abram was standing for that which he always stood: truth.
When truth is attacked there will always be strife and peace cannot be obtained because there are those of us who believe that standing for truth is very important. Though no one, and I emphasize no one, likes the battles and the fighting that goes on among our ranks, when truth is at stake people must stand up and fight for truth. When a stand is being taken for truth there will always be strife.
As we look further into this story we find that it was Lot who was causing everyone not to get along. It was his stance of compromise that was causing the herdsmen to be at strife. Abram was the one who told Lot they could get along if he would just live right, but it was Lot’s fault that the strife and contention existed because he wanted compromise and not truth. Is it not interesting that the one who tries to bring in compromise is the one calling for peace? Those who want us to compromise what we believe are always the ones who want everyone to get along. It is usually the compromisers who are the ones who complain that everyone needs to get along. This is not always the case, but the majority of the time this is true.
So you wonder why we have strife in our nation's political parties, our churches, among Fundamentalists and even in our homes, the answer is that when truth is attacked those who love truth will stand up and fight for truth and, because of the compromisers actions, strife will exist. Let's be careful not to love peace so much that we let truth die. If strife must exist for the sake of truth being held up, then let's have strife. If we must choose between having peace through compromise or having truth through strife, ALWAYS choose truth. Yes, we don't like strife, but strife will exist whenever truth is attacked.
RSS Feed
