Pouring Water, Not Oil, On the Flames of Strife and Offense (Proverbs 10:12)
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Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.
You know, when I first started studying Proverbs in-depth a few years ago, this was the first one that ever really struck me because I came across a catchy line in a commentary that I found so fascinating, which I’ll repeat now:
The commentator said this verse shows us that ‘love pour waters, not oil, on the flame’.
I remember reading that and going, ‘YEAH!’ Amen.
Friends, when it comes to strife, when it comes to disagreement, when it comes to offense, at this point we all know it truly is a WHEN, not IF, issue with those things.
And so the question becomes: When we’re faced with strife, with offense, how will we respond?
Proverbs 10:12 gives us two responses:
We see the response fueled by hatred. This is the kind of response that everyone and their mother is tempted to have when faced with strife or offense. It’s the natural flesh response to meet hatred with hatred, strife with strife, offense with offense, an eye for an eye.
But we’re not called to live that way as Christians, are we? Jesus commands us in John 13:34 to ‘...love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.’
In Christ we’re called to love, not hate.
And responding with love pours water, and not oil, on the flames of strife and offense.
Rather than hatred, we meet strife with grace. Rather than holding onto offense, we let go.
In Christ, we feed our enemies, forgive them, and cover offenses with love.
This is the kind of love we’re called to. And yet, if we’re really honest with ourselves, it’s a kind of love we can’t carry out. Nobody should read this verse and say, ‘O yeah, my love for others covers all offenses’.
In fact, the only one who could say their love has covered all offenses is Jesus.
Jesus’ love and life served to cover all offenses for all time. His love for us shown by His suffering on the cross and resurrection on the third day fully covered your and my sin forever.
Praise Him for that. And we can look to Him for grace and, in doing so, by His Spirit be led to share that same love and grace with others.
So in reflecting on this verse, I want you to ask yourself:
When I’m faced with strife and offense, do I respond more often with hatred or love?
And how does knowing Jesus has covered your offenses on the cross change the way you respond to others?
Let’s pray.
