You know, we know that disagreements are part of life, don't we?

Family gatherings have the potential to put people together who have strong disagreements

over their philosophies of life.

One simple statement can start an argument that turns what was supposed to be a joyous time

into an event that ends in conflict.

Sometimes this can feel like walking into a trap.

Welcome to Keep the Heart podcast with Francie Taylor. Francie is an author, teacher, and conference speaker known for sharing biblical insights that are practical and inspiring.

Now back to today's valuable study.

The holiday season or any large gatherings is the time when people often get together after

months or even years of not having seen

each other. Why should we mess up these rare gatherings with disagreements when we can find so many

other things to discuss and enjoy? Let's consider three things that we can do to handle the

potential pitfalls with wisdom.

First, recognize the tension. We can tell when a conversation is not going in a good direction,

can't we? So there is a principle that we can apply to keep the tension from flooding the room.

It's found in Proverbs 1714, which says this,

The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water, therefore leave off contention

before it be meddled with. So what does the beginning of strife sound like? It starts with one

harsh statement, and if we're not careful, we'll respond with our own

testy comeback until what was a small leak suddenly becomes a flood of angry words. Proverbs 1714

tells us to leave off contention before it be meddled with. That's another way of saying,

abandon the disagreement before it gets out of control. The phrase before it be meddled with

...