Baptist City Blog

Put Your Sword in Its Scabbard

Jeremiah 47:6

"O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still."

Two very important principles are found in this verse. The first principle is that at times the LORD does expect His people to fight. You will notice that the LORD asks about the sword, "...how long will it be ere thou be quiet?" In the next verse there is an answer to this question when it tells us that the LORD is the One Who gave the sword the charge. In other words, the LORD is not always for peace, but at times He does expect His children to fight when He gives the command.  

There is a need for the Christian to fight.  When truth is attacked, every Christian should stand up and fight.  I become weary of pacifists Christians who idly stand by and watch truth be attacked and compromised. When truth is being attacked, it is time to stand and defend it.  

On the other hand, the other principle that was being taught is that there is a time for everyone to put their sword in the scabbard.  Notice it says in the verse above, "...put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still." Just as much as there is a time to fight, there is also a needed time to stop fighting.  Yes, there are some times when people should stand up and fight, but there are many times when people fight with each other when it is not needed.  

One of the times you should put your sword in its scabbard is with family. You only have one family, and you must be careful not to fight with family. I have found one of the reasons family members fight with each other is because they are trying to better each other. Listen, we are not in a competition to see who has the best family. Every family member must realize that they are all in this together.  There is no trophy handed to the best family at the end of life, therefore, stop trying to compete and start pulling for every family to succeed.  

Another reason families fight is because of meddling family members. I have watched family members try to read each others motives as to why they are doing something, only to cause hard feelings. It is time to put your sword in your scabbard with family. Don't allow yourself to judge the motives of other family members, and stop trying to meddle in their family affairs.  Take care of your own family and you will stay busy for the rest of your life.  

Yes, there is a time to fight, but when it comes to family put your sword in its scabbard and stop fighting.  Don't destroy your relationship with your family over petty issues.  No, you are not always going to agree with family, but you can still have a great relationship with every family member if you will learn to put your sword back in its scabbard.  Don't be guilty of wielding your sword with your family. Put the sword in its scabbard and enjoy the family God gave you.