Proverbs 17 - When the Levee Breaks

17:14 The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

I think just about all of us are familiar with the Katrina, Rita, and Ike stories and photos. I have been blessed to have been a part of the recovery efforts for all 3, though I have been much more involved for Ike. With Katrina especially, most of the damage was caused by the levees giving way and allowing Lake Ponchatrain to flood most of New Orleans. There were not many homes that did not get some amount of water in them. Just a small amount of water breaching a levee will eventually create a huge hole. The Army Corp of Engineers know this and build them to withstand.

Our faith and wisdom are like a levee that holds back contention and strife. We need to build these up, layer by layer, so that there is a strong barrier against the trials of this life. They must hold firm against the continual onslaught of the media, our peers, the world, and even our churches. A small amount of strife in our lives can lead to great amounts of contention with everything and everyone. It is like a unclean sore that will fester and become infected. Take for instance the church. It is very easy to run from church to church spreading malcontent and then become disgruntled with organized "religion" altogether. If we have issues concerning our home church we need to take those to the leaders and have them addressed. We need to address those in the biblical manner. If not they will continue to fester within us until we either sew discord among our brothers and sisters or we leave to join another church. Some issues can never be resolved but by addressing them you have still applied a healing measure to the wound. You can then use your wisdom to decide whether the issue is something that is a large enough concern for you to move on. This is not only a process we must use in church but in our everyday life, especially with our spouses. Small scrapes can cause big nasty wounds if not dealt with quickly and properly. Take it from someone who has experienced the ugly and painful side. This is all very easy to say, but can sometimes be hard to do. Outside looking in is always much easier