Baptist City Blog

The Causes of Strife

Luke 22:24

"And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest."

One of the most stressful things that leader must deal with is strife. It is very tiring for a parent to always deal with strife among their children. Pastors wear themselves out because they are constantly dealing with strife among church members. Employers are constantly trying to settle strife between employees. Strife is an age-old problem that goes back to Cain and Abel. Even Jesus, Who was the greatest leader of all time, dealt with strife among His disciples. However, when studying the Scriptures, you will see there are four causes of strife.

The first cause of strife is the desire for position. The cause of strife in the verse above was the disciples desire to be the greatest. These disciples allowed their desire for position to hinder the work of Christ. Jesus quickly ended this strife by telling the disciples that the greatest is the one who serves others. Christian, stop striving for position. God knows your name and address, and when He feels you are ready for position He will give it to you. The only thing that happens when you start vying for position is you will cause strife with another who wants that same position. When you strive for position, you are only revealing that you are not ready for position. Those who are ready for position don't want it. All they want to do is get the work accomplished that needs to be done. Stop striving for position, and instead strive to get your work done.

The second cause of strife is the desire for possessions. In Genesis 13:7-8, we see that there was strife between Abraham and Lot's herdsmen. This strife was over real estate and who owned it. These herdsmen could not get along because they were concerned with who had the most possessions. When you live for possessions, you will find yourself at strife with yourself and others. This desire for possessions is a selfish desire. The desire for possessions causes strife because you want something that does not belong to you. The easiest way to overcome this cause of strife is to change your desire to please God. When you get to the point in your life when possessions are only a necessary evil to get through life, then you will find this strife will cease.

Serving personalities and not God is the third cause of strife. In 1 Corinthians 3:3-4, this worldly church was fighting over whose leader was the greatest leader. Some thought Paul was the greatest, while others thought Apollos was the greatest. This caused great strife among the early Christians. The same happens today within Christianity. There are many good men of God who are being used in a great way. The followers of these men often will fight over who is the greater personality. Let me remind you that we do not serve man, but we serve God. We should never fight over a personality. We are only commanded to contend for the faith. Be careful about lifting personalities so high that you lift them over truth. Always remember that a sign of a carnal Christian is when they fight over personality and not over truth.

The last cause of strife is jealousy. Romans 13:13 shows us that jealousy causes strife. When you become jealous of what someone else has, then you will start striving with them. You should never be jealous of what another has, but instead you should be thrilled that God has blessed them. If you live your life not expecting anything, then you will find yourself never becoming jealous over what others may get or have.

Christian, don't allow strife to be a part of your life. If you find yourself in constant strife, then it's time to grow up and make pleasing God the goal of your life. If your sole desire is to please God, then you will find that none of the causes of strife will exist in your life.