Yesterday we got started looking at some verses about strife. Nave’s Topical has helped us by providing a list of verses about the topic. We’re going to continue studying those verses today, but I want to show you one other helpful resource.
Assignment: Pray for God’s grace to see yourself honestly as you look into the mirror of His Word.
Then head back to the topical listing for strife (“Study” > Encyclopedias / Dictionaries” > “S” > “St-” > “Strife” > “Nave’s Topical Bible”).
I want to show you another list on this page.
Scroll down until you see the heading “Torrey’s New Topical Textbook”.
Here is another collection of information about strife, organized in a different format. Torrey’s breaks the list of verses down into smaller sub-topics for easier study. It even has a list entitled “Strife: Excited By” that is very similar to what you will end up with in your list, “What Sinful Attitudes Stir Up Strife?”
I chose not to direct us to this list yesterday, because I think we often get much more out of the study if we’re making our own lists and interacting with the text more actively. Torrey has already done a lot of the thinking for us by compiling that list.
Sometimes this sort of list comes in very handy and can save some time when you are trying to gather information quickly. So I want you to know that this kind of list is often available in the study resources. When you can afford the time, though, I recommend doing your own digging and your own categorizing before you look at other people’s lists.
For today, now that you know that list is there, I still encourage you to read verses and wrestle with which list to place them in as you study. This helps us think about what we’re reading.
Tomorrow we’ll think about what to do with what we’ve read.
In the meantime, I imagine the Holy Spirit is probably already giving us all plenty to think and pray about. 
For your children:
- Read Proverbs 17:14 aloud for your children.
- Talk about what the verse means. Scroll down to verse 14 of Matthew Henry’s commentary on Proverbs 17, if you need help understanding the verse. (See how easy it is to find out what you need to know so you can teach your children?)
- Then work on memorizing the verse together. This is a good verse to have ready to recite when disagreements arise during the day!
- If you have access to some dirt or sand, and don’t mind getting a bit dirty, take the kids outside for a project that will help them better understand the meaning of this verse. (If you don’t want to get dirty, have mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. You can demonstrate the same principle with them.
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- In a clear spot of soil or sand, pile up soil to form a small hill. Pack it down firmly and keep adding and packing until it measures about 4 or 5 high.
- Scoop out a hollow in the middle of the hill. (This will eventually be filled with water.)
- Just for fun, let the children use flowers, pine cones, leaves, grass, rocks, and other materials to make a tiny village at the foot of the hill.
- Carefully pour water into the hollowed out spot in your hill. Initially, the water will probably soak up into the soil. Keep carefully adding water until the “lake” is full.
- Read Proverbs 17:14 again.
- Then use your fingers to open up a small breach at the edge of your “lake” while you pour in more water. (Make this breach on the side of the hill that faces the village below, if you want to flood your village.)
- Talk about how just one angry word and unkind remark can be like opening up that breach at the lake’s edge. Someone else makes a rude comment in return, and all of the sudden, a fight breaks out. (There’s the tongue — causing troubles again!)
- The best way to avoid arguments and fights is to not let them start! Pray, asking God to help you all control your tongues so that peace can reign in your home.