Church Elder Is Not Violent

Titus 1:7d

Church elder must not have a quarrelsome or combative nature.

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Someone who is constantly quarreling and always in conflict is always in sin.

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Argumentative people are showing that they always put their own wants, lusts, and desires above others.

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Every argument begins when both parties want to assert their own idea and have things their own way.

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The man appointed as a Church elder should not be one who gets in fistfights.

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Adam and Eve's son Abel was the victim of his brother Cain's violence.

Cain was angry and struck him dead.

This was a man to whom the Lord spoke personally.

This was a guy who was a believer.

And yet, he did not master sin, and the result was murder.

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Hitting is possible for any of us.

It is such a possibility for anyone that God dedicated much of Exodus 21 to outlining penalties for those who hit.

That chapter includes the commandment: He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 21:12)

There are terrible consequences for hitting.

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Sometimes it seems like people are asking for it.

When they tailgate us, are obnoxious in their behavior, or belligerent in their demeanor, it is as if their mouths are begging to be punched.

But wisdom dictates that we must refrain from getting into it with the fool.

It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel. (Prov. 20:3)

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Jesus also taught us, "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)