And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Gen 13:7-8
As part of building our Christlike identity, this passage highlights the herdsman’s spirit we need to reject, and the other to embrace.
The story is about Abraham and Lot's success in livestock farming and the ensuing arguments that came from that.
The herdsmen, under a bit of pressure, could not control their spirits. We find them angry and arguing. They allowed their nature to control them. Abraham and Lot had higher aims for their spirits, keeping control and working out a plan.
Part of our changing nature in Christ is the peace of our spirits. Yet, if we prefer holding onto unrighteous anger we end up wielding it like a club. The herdsman mentality dictates that as soon as dilemmas occur we are already firing our verbal bullets.
Our calling is to the maturity of Abraham and Lot, where reason and God's purpose is our chief aim. Proverbs 3:17 speaks of wisdom, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
By not letting the Holy Spirit clean out our anger, it sits dormant until a problem arises, at which time we're unable to control it.
Today's prayer: Dear Lord, please help me allow your Holy Spirit in to clean out any unrighteous anger, and help me to discern the difference.
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