Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
To Overcome Strife, Focus On What Is Good

To Overcome Strife, Focus On What Is Good

Last updated on: July 30, 2024 at 2:42 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

To Overcome Strife, Focus On What Is Good 2024-07-30T02:42:32-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pieter Brueghel The Elder: The Strife Of Lent / Wikimedia Commons

Christianity is a religion about God, God’s love for creation, and the mercy and grace God is willing to give to those who welcome it. All that is good and true can and will find itself embraced by God insofar as it is good and true; in that embrace, God will bring them together, uniting them so that together they can be led to and directed towards even greater and greater goods, until, at least, they embrace not only that which is good, but the source and foundation of every good, which is God. We should do likewise. This is why, when some goodness is found, we should promote it in relation to that goodness, and if necessary, if it is found in a bad context, take it out of that context and redirect it to the good in which it should be placed. If we focus, not on what is good, but what we consider to be bad, constantly denouncing the bad instead of looking for and promoting that good, we find ourselves looking backward, focusing on what is bad, letting it influence and corrupt our thinking; we are, in this way, like Lot’s wife, and risk becoming stuck in our backward introspection.

If we want to promote the Christian faith, we must do so with grace, encouraging people to engage in whatever goodness they know and understand. That way we can keep the focus on what is good and true instead of letting what is bad dominate our thoughts and actions. We should do so with kindness and compassion, for if we are unkind and heartless, people will sense the hostility we have and react to that instead of the goodness we think they should embrace. Indeed, many of them will double-down on what they are doing, thinking what we have must not be good if we are shown to be so heartless and unloving. Certainly, we can critically examine and explain our concerns when someone goes astray, carefully explaining how or why we think they have gone wrong, but that must not be our focus; we should be more concerned in showing what is good and true, giving people reasons to desire such goodness for themselves than we should be in tearing them down and making them feel bad about themselves. We should especially show them the love and compassion God has shown us, for in that way, they will realize what God offers them, instead of thinking God is there, looking down upon them, trying to find a reason to damn them and make sure their existence is one of pure suffering. Thus, “One of the [desert- HK] fathers said, ‘A harsh word makes the good bad, but a good [word] benefits everybody.”[1]

How we engage others is important. There might be times when we must deal with a practical problem in haste, and in such situations, our kindness might not always be apparent, but in general, we should take care to show mercy, kindness and charity in what we do and in what we say. Our words should be complemented by our actions, and our actions complemented by our words. The more we show in deed that we care for others, the more they will realize what we say is more than just meaningless words and they will be open to consider what we have to say.

We must do what we can to disengage any strife that is before us. It is not easy, and sometimes, there is no good solution. But we must try, and we do that by keeping love as the inspiration for our actions. If we do not show mercy, if we are harsh with others, we will be the cause of strife, and through such strife, things will get worse. The harsher we are than what is prudential, the more strife we will create, and that strife, in the end, will only lead people, including ourselves, away from what is good and true: “Strife delivers a man to anger, anger to blindness, and blindness makes him work all manner of evil.”[2]’

Ignorance makes people do bad things, and, ultimately, cause their own suffering. When people are enraged, they are incapable of properly assessing the situation, and therefore, they will not truly know what is going on. Their actions will be done out of ignorance, and through such ignorance, they will often make things worse, leading people to become more engaged and therefore, act with even less understanding of the situation. Thus, unless the rage and ignorance it creates is countered, it leads to a never-ending cycle, where things continue to get worse and worse, until things either end badly, or people finally come to terms with their rage and try to stop it and repair the harm they have caused:

Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. (Eph. 4:26-29 RSV).

We will experience anger in our lives. When we do, we should do what we can to pacify it, to let it work itself out so that we do not let it take control of us and lead us astray. The more we hold onto our anger, the worse we will become, and the more likely we will do something which we will later regret.

“The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers men” (Prov. 12:6 RSV). We must, therefore, be careful in what we say, not letting evil come out of our mouth, never letting bad words be spoken with the intent to hurt the person we are talking to. Through it is often difficult, we should strive to let go of our anger, to not let it misdirect us and act contrary to the compassion and love we should be showing to others. Certainly, we will make mistakes, and our passions can get the best of us, but there is a difference between a momentary lapse and a general, harsh disposition. We must recognize our failings, and strive to do better. We must not let our anger create unnecessary strife, even as, if we find ourselves in a situation where there already is much strife, we should look for those who are being unjustly harmed by it and stand by them, helping them while encouraging those creating such strife to change their ways and begin to repair the harm they have caused others. That is why we must focus on what is good and true so that we can use it to either prevent strife, or when some strife has emerged, to extinguish it, for in the end, it is what is good and true, what is built upon hope, which will last, while all that is built upon anger, resentment, and strife, will not.

[1] John Wortley, trans., The Book of the Elders: Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2012), 186 [N665].

[2] John Wortley, trans., The Book of the Elders: Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 186 [N634].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

Desert Monks

Desert Fathers

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Strife

Previous Post

July 28, 2024

Foolish Spectacles

Next Post

July 31, 2024 PRS* XI Remembering A Story

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz