10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
In these three verses of Proverbs 13, we find three precious gems of wisdom -- how to avoid contention, the way to attain wealth, and how the results of answered prayer will produce growth and life. Verse 10 tells us that pride is behind every dispute that results in strife. The pride spoken of in this verse is referring to one being arrogant and haughty. If two people are unyielding and arrogant when they disagree about something, it will always produce contention and strife. If we desire to get along with others, we must humble ourselves, and not take the opinion that we are better or smarter than others. This verse says that if we are well advised, we will act in wisdom toward others. We will not act defiantly or condescending to others. We may be right in a situation and yet act in a wrong manner, thus defeating our position.
As God's children, we must always act the way He would want us to act. This is not saying that we are to always take the position of being a "door mat." Sometime the harder thing to do in a situation, is to speak the truth in love, instead of trying to avoid a situation because we dread conflict. When we find ourselves in a situation of disagreement with others, we should seek God as to how He would have us to respond, in spite of how we might feel about the situation. If we feel we are being treated unfairly, the best way to see justice in our behalf is to love, forgive and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. When we take this position and pray good prayers toward others, then God will defend us. We should never pray evil prayers toward those who oppose us. These kind of prayers are not coming from the heart of God, but from our own flesh. When we are blessing others with our prayers and our thoughts, we are overcoming evil with good.
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