What does the Bible say about strife?

Strife and contention in the churches could not originate with God, for He is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33). It is from the flesh that these things spring, for we read: "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" (Jas. 4:1). The devil, the malignant and untiring enemy of God, is behind the flesh. He can work upon it; he could have no foothold amongst the saints of God apart from it.

The works of the flesh are solemnly and fully enumerated, and in such a manner as to mark the holy hand of the Spirit of God. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these; adultery], fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 19-21). Who but the Spirit of God would have given the unholy list thus? Who but He would have placed wrath, variance, etc. in the same category with such notoriously vile offences as fornication, murders, and drunkenness? Man would have classified them, arranging them in the order in which they appeared heinous in his sight. Offences that are lesser, in human judgment, would have been placed in one class, and bolder sins in another. But not so the Holy Spirit. He traces all to the one root. Whether it be murder or strife, sect-making (for such is the meaning of "heresies"), or emulations (which may even happen among brethren), all comes from the flesh, which is incurably evil, whether in the saint or the unregenerate sinner. In like manner the Lord Jesus exposed the heart of man to His disciples in Matt. 15:19. All evil flows thence. The spring being impure, all that flows from it is offensive to God.

Unbridled lust (James 4:1-3)

(Vv. 1-3). The Apostle has spoken of disorder and strife amongst the professing people of God. Now he asks, “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” He traces the wars amongst the people of God to the lusts of the heart finding expression in the members of the body. To gratify lust the flesh is prepared to kill and fight. In a literal sense this is true of the world and its wars. In a moral sense, if we are bent on carrying out our own wills, the flesh will ruthlessly belittle and override everyone that hinders the fulfilment of our desires.

If our desires are legitimate, there is no need to fight amongst ourselves to obtain them; we can ask of God. It is true, however, that we may not obtain an answer to our prayers, because we may ask with the wrong motive of gratifying some lust.

Pride is the root of contention. What is emptier than self-applause and self-seeking? What so rules, not only those who affect great things in high life, but among the most debased of mankind? So it works in every circle of the world, and still more disgustingly in the Church, to which Christ has given the exemplar of what perfectly pleases God and edifies man by love in the truth. Pride leads to confusion, contention, and every evil work. The old man is ever proud in one way or another, being as self-sufficient as he is regardless and forgetful of Christ. Faith alone makes a man "well- advised" in a divine sense. With those led of the Spirit is wisdom, for Christ is before their eyes and their heart. He indeed from God is made to us wisdom, and all else we need; yet, whatever we have, what do we not need?

"Only by pride comes contention," says the proverb. There never was a bit of trouble between saints, but pride was at the bottom of it! You stand up for your rights, and the Lord will put you down. You may get what you want, but the Lord will have His hand against you. A Christian should be like a piece of india-rubber, always giving way, never resisting, except it be the devil. (See verse 9.)

(V. 3). Having touched upon the lack of unity in their midst, the Apostle, in one short sentence, exposes the root of the trouble. He says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory.” Strife is the endeavour to belittle others; vainglory is the attempt to exalt self in the eyes of others. Anything that is said or done simply in opposition to someone else, or with the object of exalting self, will tend to destroy unity and raise discord. Thus the Apostle traces all discord among the people of God to the vainglory that has self, and self-exaltation in view. Even if we escape the gross folly of seeking to exalt self by boasting in birth, social position, earthly riches, or intellectual abilities, we may easily fall into the snare of spiritual pretension that seeks to exalt self amongst the people of God by means of spiritual gifts.

Still true to the weakness of his character, it is not Lot, but Abram who proposes separation, after it was made perfectly plain that they could no longer walk happily together. In this connection, it is solemn to note that Scripture records "the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then dwelling in the land," as though to draw attention to the seriousness of strife in the presence of such unfriendly eves and ears. There are enemies looking on, and noting with ill-concealed satisfaction the strife and contention which is all too prevalent among the saints of God. Contention is generally connected with something that pertains to us in this world, something upon which the heart is set, but the possession of which will not contribute to spiritual advancement, but rather the reverse. "A bondman of the Lord ought not to contend, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach: forbearing; in meekness setting right those who oppose" (2 Tim. 2:24). How beautifully do we see this exemplified in the case of Abram now before us; he was entirely apart from the spirit of strife: "Let there be no strife … for we are brethren." He meets the spirit of strife with the spirit of surrender: there was no insistence on his part to any rights of his. How he endears himself to our hearts as he rises in moral greatness by this act of renunciation and surrender! "Let your yieldingness be known of all men, the Lord is near" (Phil. 4:5).

The word translated "strive," as that also in the preceding verse rendered "strifes," should be rather "contend," and "contend" in the sense of fighting, coming into conflict in an evil way. While therefore the servant of the Lord must maintain the truth in spite of all opposition, withstand his fellow servant to the face if need be, as Paul did Peter when the truth of grace was in question, and contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, he must never descend from the platform of the truth, as a positive revelation from God, and as entrusted to him as a witness, to engage in conflict with those who raise foolish and unlearned questions. He, on his part, should come out from the presence of God with the authority of the truth established in his own soul, and thus enabled to proclaim it dogmatically in the midst of all the uncertainties of human contentions, from entering into which he will also carefully guard himself. With a message for all, he ranges himself on the side of none in their conflicts, for he should speak to all alike in the name of the Lord.

There follow general moral exhortations; at the head of which comes that to peace. It is true that sometimes one must contend: we are to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3); but the apostle is here contemplating no such case; and alas, the strife of self-interest is that which too commonly disturbs the people of God; the sure sign of the allowance of lusts which show that Christ is not the present satisfaction of the soul. Real contention for the faith will be because Christ is before it, as surely as the other betrays His absence. The atmosphere of His presence is indeed peace; but conflict may be needed that that peace may be enjoyed; if it be rebellion that has launched us into it, it is not we who have broken the peace, but those who have made it impossible to retain it without treason to our Lord.

The unreasonableness of the strife betwixt Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's is aggravated by the near neighbourhood of the heathens to them, "And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and Perizzite dwelled then in the land" (Gen. 13:7). … O Christians, shall Herod and Pilate put you to shame? They clapped up a peace to strengthen their hands against Christ; and will not you unite against your common enemy? … Contentions put a stop to the growth of grace. The body may as well thrive in a fever, as the soul prosper when on a flame with strife and contention. Observe that place (Eph. 4:15): "But speaking the truth in love," or being sincere in love, "may grow up into Him in all things." The apostle is upon a cure, showing how souls may come to thrive and flourish; and the receipt he gives is a composition of these two rare drugs, sincerity and love; preserve these and all will go well. There may be preaching, but no edifying, without love. You cut off your trade with heaven, at the throne of grace; you will be little in prayer to God, if much in squabbling with your brethren. It is impossible to go from wrangling to praying, with a free spirit. And if you should be so bold as to knock at God's door, you are sure to have cold welcome, "Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." As we cut off our trade with heaven, so with one another; when two countries fall out they must needs both pinch by the war. No Christian could well live without borrowing from his brethren. There is that "which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part" (Eph. 4:16). Contentions and divisions spoil all intercourse among believers. Communication flows from communion, and communion is founded upon union. The church grows under persecution; that sheds the seed all over the field, and brings the gospel where else it had not been heard of; but divisions and contentions, like a furious storm, washes the seed out of the land, with its heart, fatness, and all. Contentions not only hazard the decay of grace, but growth of sin. "If ye have bitter envying, and strife in your hearts, glory not; … for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Contention is the devil's forge, in which if he can but give a Christian a heat or two, he will soften him for his hammer of temptation. Moses himself, when his spirit was a little hot, "spake unadvisedly with his lips."