“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

Proverbs 6:19 says that God hates “he who sows discord (or strife) among his brethren.”

A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. Proverbs 16:28 AMP

A person who sows strife is a person who is perverse – a person who is carnal and deaf to the voice of their conscience. This word “perverse” is also translated as “fraud.” Strife grieves the Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian He will bring conviction to you in your spirit when you do or say something to cause strife or accelerate it. If you are disobedient to the Holy Spirit, or if you have a seared conscience and you can’t hear Him, you will continue on in strife and in sin. When you whisper – gossip and tell tales about people – you cause strife between them. God hates this kind of behavior!

He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends. Proverbs 17:9 AMP

Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife. Proverbs 30:33 AMP

When you won’t drop something, but you go on and on about it, you are causing strife and division between people. Many times friends have fights or disagreements or misunderstandings, but if they love each other they will work at working it out and repairing the breach. However, if a third person continues to bring it up and harp on it all the time, the strife will continue and even accelerate. If you continue to remind people of the issues that caused the strife and if you work at working them up over it, then you are a strife-causer.

However, if you are a true friend, you will be a peace-maker and peace-encourager; you will encourage forgiveness; you will promote peace and reconciliation; you will discourage friends from allowing strife to cause unforgiveness and bitterness, which would ruin their relationships. Husbands and wives need to encourage one another to forgive other people and not be bitter. We are to protect one another from the wiles of the devil. If he can get you into strife he has an open door into your life, to cause havoc and destruction.

He who is of a greedy spirit stirs up strife, but he who puts his trust in the Lord shall be enriched and blessed. Proverbs 28:25 AMP

Greed and covetousness are a source of strife. Put your trust in God alone and you will be blessed. Don’t be jealous when someone else is blessed – be happy for them – your turn is coming!

The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out. Proverbs 17:14 AMP

When strife first starts, that is the time to jump on it and stop it. If you allow it to continue, it will soon be out of control – all kinds of people will be quarreling with each other, and it will be very hard to quench it.

It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel. Proverbs 20:3 AMP

You show yourself to be a fool when you are quarrelsome and argumentative. An honorable man stays far away from strife, and if he happens to be drawn into it, he extricates himself as quickly as he can.

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it. 18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger appeases contention. Proverbs 15:17-18 AMP

A man of wrath stirs up strife, and a man given to anger commits and causes much transgression. Proverbs 29:22 AMP

Strife is stress-inducing and soul-destroying. Most sensible people would rather have fewer material goods and a peaceful home, than wealth and strife. When people are hot-tempered, they have a tendency to anger quickly, and anger stirs up strife. So if you have a tendency to be hot-tempered, the first thing you need to do is to learn to control your temper, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and to not be so reactionary. Take a little more time to find out all the facts and do not be tempted to jump to conclusions.

If you want to be able to control your temper and if you want to prevent strife, then you need to be more patient and more considerate; don’t be envious or jealous; don’t be arrogant, conceited, or boastful; don’t be rude; don’t insist on your own rights or your own way; don’t be touchy, fretful, or resentful; pay no attention to a suffered wrong; don’t rejoice at injustice or unrighteousness; believe the very best, not the very worst of other people. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)