Fight! Fight! Fight!

   Are you a lover or a fighter?  Do you act on the impulse of seeing red when something doesn't go your way?  There's a powerful adrenaline rush that comes from getting into a fight.  

   Maybe your fight isn't hand to hand combat, but more often a war of words.  In a fury you write a response to an e-mail or text and you punch that send button. Instead of talking with your spouse or child, you burst out and make it a fight.  

   Wise king Solomon wrote: "Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling" (Proverbs 20:3 - NLT).  Granted there are things to "fight" for in this life.  Paul encourages us to "fight the good fight of the faith" in 1 Timothy 6:12.  

   So, should you fight or not?  Answering that question has to do with your end goal.  Is your goal simply to fight and win an argument?  This is what a fool does.  His or her fighting isn't meant to get anywhere or accomplish anything, but just to come out on top.  However, if your goal is eternal life (for you and the other person), then you need to know who the enemy really is.  It's not the person you are fighting with, but all that would tear both of you away from God and his grace.  You don't just fight to fight, but you fight because, in Christ, you have victory and you want the other person to have that victory, too.  

   So, what have your most recent fights been about?  What little mole hills have you been dying on?  Maybe instead of fighting with your wife about silly little things, you could be fighting to save your marriage, or better yet, fighting to keep yourself and your spouse anchored to God's Word so you can see each other in heaven.  Maybe instead of fighting with that co-worker just because of how they are treated differently on the job, you could be fighting for a chance to share the hope you have in Jesus with them.  

   So, go ahead and fight, but fight wisely!