According to Romans 8, the Spirit of life living in us should give us victory over the spirit of death that tempts us to sin. In other words, we have a supernatural ability to do the right thing and not the wrong thing, but will we listen to it?

Provocation is trying to solicit a response from something or something. When someone provokes you, it's only natural to want to strike back in the same way you were provoked. At least that's our natural tendency. But for the child of God, more is expected than simply responding to conflict according to your natural sinful reflex.

Solomon in all his wisdom, viewed provocation in a different light. He had power, riches, wisdom, discernment, God's ordination and momentum. It's difficult to think someone would try to intimidate him and provoke him, but maybe his worst enemy was his sinful nature. If so, we know in the end he succumbed to his "dark" side and didn't follow his own advice. That doesn't mean however, that we have to do the same thing.

While both a big rock and a lot of sand look different, their looks are deceiving. While a stone looks heavy, it's usually negotiable because of it's size and shape. Sand on the other hand, looks light but when contained in a bag, it can be as heavy as a rock. Negotiating, or carrying a rock, is easier than sand because you can make it stay in one place. Sand is difficult to manage because holding it in your hand, it tends to fall between your fingers or attach itself to your sweaty palms. Then, if sand is exposed to water on the ground, it leads to erosion over time by the way it loosens the soil.

Remember the last time someone tried to make you angry or said something to make you strike back. More than one time in my life, someone has drawn a line in the sand with a stick and challenged me to cross over it. If they were big and mean, they seemed like a stone, too heavy to move. However, if they seemed agile and quick like sand, they may have seemed too illusive to catch.

But then there have been some whose aggression seemed foolish to both me and those who gathered around to watch the "fight." Solomon noted that it takes a real man of wisdom to turn from a fight where in the end the foolish aggressor becomes the victim. Quite simply, you can't win a fight against a fool. That's because they have nothing to lose by their accusations and nothing to win unless you lower yourself to their level.

In our sinful nature, we are fools, but in our spiritual nature we have the power to become wise. The question is whether we are slaves to our spiritual or sinful nature. We can avoid becoming a fool by recognizing most fights are won by standing ground (assuming it's the "right" ground) and not swapping licks with a loser.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Ez. 12:1-14:11 Hb. 7:1-17 Ps. 105:39-45 Pr. 27:3 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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