It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. – Proverbs 20:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 9, 2019): Proverbs 20

Richard the Lionheart. To every fan of the modern tales of Robin Hood, which would include me, the name brings a picture of a good and just king, who left his Kingdom to fight in a Holy War. Unfortunately, in leaving his subjects to what was right, he left them to the evil desires of his younger brother, Prince John. But all of that seems to be just fiction. The image that the Tales of Robin Hood deliver to us of Richard the Lionheart and Prince John seem to be as much a piece of fiction as the story that we like to read of Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. Steve Runciman, in his “History of the Crusades: Volume III,” offers this final thought on the reign Richard I; "he was a bad son, a bad husband, and a bad king, but a gallant and splendid soldier." William Stubbs in his “The Constitutional History of England,” argues that “he was a bad king: his great exploits, his military skill, his splendour and extravagance, his poetical tastes, his adventurous spirit, do not serve to cloak his entire want of sympathy, or even consideration, for his people. … His ambition was that of a mere warrior: he would fight for anything whatever, but he would sell everything that was worth fighting for. The glory that he sought was that of victory rather than conquest.” History records that Richard was lousy king, but a great soldier. And so he abandoned the responsibilities that had been left to him by his father, Henry II, to seek the honor of the fight.

And there are Richard the Lionheart look-a-likes in our culture. They find honor in the battle. They take the fight to our culture. Maybe instead of a sword, they carry protest signs. They call down others, degrading them, and calling them names. They use social media to attack those that they don’t like. And in the midst of it all, they claim to be about the work of God. God becomes the excuse for their opposition.

But Solomon argues that the opposite is actually true. It is the fool who is quick to the fight. It is to our honor to be the peacemakers in the world. The avoidance of conflict should be our goal, and not how we can get into the battle. And even in the defense of God, there are ways to defend that do not involve picket signs and name-calling. Picking a fight does not make us honorable. Often it is merely the easy response to the things with which we disagree. Even Jesus echoed this proverb of Solomon in his Sermon on the Mount when he taught us that “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 21