Meddling in the problems of others is a dangerous practice resulting in unforeseen outcomes. The Bible uses two comparisons to help convey the danger involved with meddling. Proverbs 17:14 compares meddling to the letting out of previously restrained water. The idea is that meddling with the problems belonging to others is like personally opening the gates once restraining a large body of water. The second comparison is found in Proverbs 26:17. The Bible says, “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” When someone does this, the dog turns upon the individual. Both of these warnings demonstrate the grievous dangers involved in unnecessarily meddling in the affairs of others.
God expects loyalty from man. He is not interested in “worship” that involves Him being one of man’s many gods. In fact, He adamantly opposed this position within the Ten Commandments. There the Lord admonished His people to “have no other gods before” Him (Exodus 20:3). He then warned them not to make nor bow in worship to idols (Exodus 20:4-5). The Lord earned Israel’s loyalty in many ways, but the Bible specifically points to His delivering them from Egypt. It is important to note that God does not expect blind loyalty from man, but He certainly deserves this type of loyalty. He earned man’s loyalty by being his Creator. Yet His ultimate claim to loyalty stems from His offering to redeem fallen man though man is completely unworthy.
No doubt about it: the world is full of problems. Every day, people choose to say and do things that they should not say or do. Their actions contain all of the necessary ingredients for strife. The Bible says a wrathful man looks for the possibility of strife and does whatever necessary to stir it up (Proverbs 15:18). Why does he do this? The Bible points out that he is proud of heart (Proverbs 28:25) and full of hatred (Proverbs 10:12). The Bible further describes this work in Proverbs 26:20-21 where it says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.” A contentious man seeks to rekindle the flames as he notices the fires of strife beginning to be extinguished.
During Bible times, even the average individual understood a great deal concerning agriculture. This meant that the laws of sowing and reaping were quite familiar to them. They understood that sowing seed was done in hopes of reaping a harvest of that which was sown. Today’s passage explains that the froward man chooses to sow strife. In other words, there are some in society who look for strife and where it does not exist, they will sow the seeds of strife so that it sprouts even where it did not originally exist. Why would they do this? Some people revel in seeing the fruits of arguments, wars, strife, envy, debate, and other such things. The froward man simply finds a way to instigate problems and exploit situations by creating lies or exaggerations to accomplish his sordid purposes.
Contention comes when two parties have conflicting desires or points of view and are unwilling to amicably resolve them. Oftentimes, pride hinders either party from admitting their errors or even the possibility of their being partially to blame. Contention ceases in the absence of pride. When Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, became king, the people of God came to him requesting relief from the heavy burden of taxes that had been placed upon them by Solomon. The older men counselled Rehoboam to do as the people requested, but the younger men instructed Rehoboam to reject the wishes of the people. Rehoboam contentiously responded to the people’s request with pride; strife understandably followed (1 Kings 12:1-16).
Paul’s stedfastness in the gospel message caused a stir throughout Asia. He boldly declared that the people’s idols were no gods at all. Such preaching angered the local craftsmen so they met together to discuss how to stop Paul and end his message’s impact of their livelihood. The mass confusion intensified the fear as it spread throughout the city. As some of Paul’s companions were ushered into the theatre, the crowd cried out conflicting things to the point that many had no idea why they had even gathered together. The people’s confusion escalated. Because of conflicting reports, they were unable to discern the reality of the situation. Confusion thrives when conflicting statements or feelings are present and people fail to discern the truth.
The various dieting trends push for several additional times that man should eat. The Bible clears up any question concerning the number of meals an individual should eat in a single day. Believers should be very careful not to accept the latest trends as though they are the best or even from the Lord. Within scripture, one finds someone partaking of the meal commonly called breakfast (Judges 19:5), at other times, one finds someone partaking of a meal at noon (Genesis 43:16), and at other times, partaking of an evening meal (Luke 24:29-30). In the case of Elijah, the Lord only fed him twice a day (1 Kings 17:6). The most important truth to realize and consider: know that food purposes to give man the necessary strength to fulfil the will of the Lord.
This life offers only a window of time and opportunity to work for the Lord. Youthfulness and old age both offer their own hindrances to service. In many ways, though not entirely, youth should be spent in learning, middle age in doing, and old age in teaching those who are learning and doing. Many of the greatest servants of the Lord found in scripture began their journey in youth by learning of the Lord and His ways (1 Kings 18:12; Psalm 71:5; 2 Chronicles 34:3; Job 29:4; Ecclesiastes 12:1). As they approached the prime of life, they invested their learning by serving the Lord (Numbers 8:24-25). As they passed their prime, they would pass their knowledge on to the next generation in hopes of the Lord’s work continuing and flourishing (2 Timothy 4:1-8)..
From youth, man is gripped by sin’s attraction. As he ages, the source of temptation may vary, but the fact that he is tempted remains constant. Paul instructed young Timothy to “flee . . . youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22), yet Solomon’s heart was turned after other gods when he “was old” (1 Kings 11:4). Many believers have wasted the precious years of youth by succumbing to the youthful lusts of which Paul warned Timothy. Others have fought the good fight in their youth, only to regretfully compromise in their waning years. There is no time or age for the believer to be at ease concerning sin. Sin can be pleasurable but is always deceptive with uncertain outcomes for those who indulge.
Life is cyclical. Many of the physical challenges experienced by young children will once again be encountered by those who live long enough. As a person ages, many things taken for granted long ago in the prime of life begin to deteriorate. For instance, the Bible says that Israel’s eyes “were dim for age” (Genesis 48:10), Barzillai’s hearing and taste buds were ill affected (2 Samuel 19:34-35), and David “gat no heat” (1 Kings 1:1) as he grew old. For these reasons and others, the Bible emphasizes that aged saints are “old and well stricken in age” (Genesis 18:11). In other words, the passing of time or the coming of age strikes the physical well-being of the body and its physical and mental functions. This physical and mental degeneration is the fulfillment of the cycle of life as the body prepares to return to the dust from whence it originally came (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
