5:25 – Walk Away and Regroup

#faithbites #faithjourney walk

Intro

Parenting iis hard. I’ve made mistakes. More times than I care to count. One thing I have learned, or should say learning, is how to deal with my youngest when she gets angry. No amount of logic, pleading, describing, or forcing gets her to change her mind. The only thing that works is walking away and giving her time. Then after awhile she’ll come to me or I’ll check on her. Either way, it’s a whole new atmosphere and we can start again.

We see this all the time. From the corner preacher saying everyone is going to hell to those people at protests and those belittling folks for not believing what they believe. Heck, just look at a social media comments thread (actually don’t) and see that information can’t reduce passion or change an ingrained position. Walking away and regrouping can.

Questions

• How do you approach heated situations?
• Do you use force or might to win? Does it work?
• What would happen if you walked away, let emotions cool, and try again?
• Whwt if you walked away and realized you aren’t the right messenger in this case?

Scripture

• Philippians 2:14 – Do everything without complaining and arguing.
• 2 Timothy 2:23-24 – ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Reflection

Looking aat this verses you may think that they have nothing to do with walking away. It’s easy to miss. The Lord is telling us not to quarrel, not to argue, and not to have stupid arguments. The one I got into today about writing in your journal was stupid, so I just walked away. Making the decision to walk is hard. We want to win, we want to prove a point, but at what cost? God is clear, stay away from the arguments.. Choosing to walk may be the best way until you can find another way to approach the situation.

As we close, remember that we want to stay clear of arguments, especially foolish ones, as they make us all lose. Chose to walk.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for your love and for your words. You tell us not to argue and fight. We often find ourselves in positions where we try to use might to make right. Help us to walk away from the argument. We pray for you to provide other ways or other messengers to help us in all our conflicts. Let us resolve them with kindness, love, and peace. In your name, Amen.