The Serpent Leader and Strife

UV 3455/10000 The Serpent Leader and Strife
So Abram said to Lot, “ Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me , nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives.”

Genesis 13 v 8

The serpent leader sows seeds of discord within families and among relatives through issues like property, inheritance and so on. When two brothers approached Jesus to solve their property dispute, Jesus declined to intervene. He expects us to resolve these differences among ourselves. Today, due to greed a large number of families are divided by the serpent leader on issues of sharing their inheritance especially with the women of the family. We should learn from the example of Abram aka Abraham who chose to point to his nephew Lot a just and acceptable solution.

The enemy’s goal is to cause strife and division. He likes to disturb or destroy the peace of homes. It then falls on the elders in the family to try to find an amicable solution without going to outsiders or the court for settlement which would prove protracted and expensive. The feeling of insecurity that one will not have enough for one’s own family or for later life often drives the family members exercising control to try to corner all the assets for themselves. Instead, if they settle it peacefully and quickly, they can avoid creating bad blood, curses and hatred among brothers and divert their attention and energy to constructive priorities.

Such lust of the flesh adversely affects families, congregations and communities. At such times, we should introspect, pray and seek the godly and wise counsel. Later , in the story we see how Abram also rescues Lot from destruction in Sodom. The unity of families should be maintained at any cost. The Servant Leader Jesus exhorted His followers to be always united, wary of the seed of discord the serpent leader was prone to sow.