The next “work of the flesh,” noted in Galatians 5:20 is “disputes,” or as it is called in some translations, “strife." Like all of these works of the flesh, they overlap each other in ways, and then feed each other. Worse than that, the devil feeds on them!

When the Lord condemned the serpent to crawl on his belly and eat the dust because the flesh of man was made from the dust, this was a prophetic statement of how the devil would feed on the carnal nature of man. That is why the devil promotes this carnality and sinful nature—it feeds him! Every time we give into one of the works of the flesh in our life it is feeding the very devils that are seeking to bind us, using us for their own evil purposes.

We can all probably think of people we have known who are simply prone to dispute almost any statement they hear. Those who have this problem, which is in fact a serious character flaw just like all of the other works of the flesh, will often argue with others even if they agree with them! Those who are prone to do this may make good lawyers, which are trained to challenge everything they hear to test the validity of the statements, but outside of a courtroom those who do this are very difficult to be around.

This tendency to be argumentative can make intelligent, informative, and constructive conversation very difficult at best if they are around. In an organization, such people can make constructive advancement likewise difficult. These are the types of people that good management courses will teach you to identify and either isolate or get rid of. They can be like the rotten apple that spoils the whole basket full of fruit. The Lord seems to feel the same way about keeping them away from His business.

This does not mean that there should not be room for challenging statements, positions, or propositions. There is often a need for this so we can examine things more deeply or carefully. However, there is a difference with someone doing this for the sake of a deeper examination and someone who is just argumentative. The latter is a work of the flesh, and it will not help lead us to righteousness, but will rather be prone to cause destructive divisions.

Now, after thinking of someone you know who is like this, which is probably someone you really do not like being around, consider for a minute if this could possibly be the way others see you? Just about every time I hear a very convicting sermon or word, I start thinking of people who I wish could hear this, and the Lord has to remind me that He has me there listening to it, not them! Before we ever go looking for the splinters in other people’s eyes, let us be sure that we do not have a log in our own.

I have found if for some reason I do not like a person, have been hurt or rejected by them, or am just irritated with them at the time, I will be far more prone to want to challenge or reject anything they say. Likewise, if I like a person, or have recently been blessed by them in some way, I am far more prone to listen openly to what they are saying. However, one of the important lessons I learned the first year I was a Christian was the people that I tended to reject the most when I first met them were often the ones that had the very wisdom, knowledge, or perspective that I needed the most. So now I know that if I want to learn something, I need to humble myself and listen to those who I might not be prone to listen to.

Could this be why the Lord sent Peter to the Jews, and Paul to the Gentiles? It seems that the opposite would have worked better. The Jews would have identified with and more easily listened to Paul than Peter. Paul was a disciple of the esteemed teacher Gamaliel, and a “Pharisee of Pharisees,” while Peter was an unlearned fisherman and common man, who the Jews tended to have a basic disrespect for. It likewise seems that the Gentiles would have listened to a person like Peter easier than Paul, whose strict religious nature was an affront to them. However, the Jews did not need what was in Peter’s head, but rather what was in his heart. Likewise, the Gentiles needed the systematic and sound teaching that Paul excelled in. Both groups had to humble themselves to get what they needed, and grace is required to receive the grace of God. Likewise, both Peter and Paul were cast in a humble dependency on the Holy Spirit to accomplish their purpose because everything “in the natural” was against them.

My point is that those who are prone to be argumentative will be poor learners, and though they usually assume that they know more than others, or can reason better than others, such are the most foolish people of all. These are the critical, cynical people who feel that it is their place in life to attack and expose others. It is what has invaded and so perverted modern journalism in a way that directly undercuts the path to real truth and faith, which begins with humility and openness.

This does not mean that we should accept everything we hear without examining it, but as Paul exhorted in I Thessalonians 5:21, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.” This implies testing what we hear—looking for the good, not the bad. There is a difference. When we look at something with positive expectations, which is faith, we will be far more open to seeing it accurately than if we look at it through the eyes of doubt. Because we have faith it does not mean we reject discernment and know how to recognize that which is not true. However, those who already doubt have eyes that are half-closed, and will far more often miss truth that they could have received.

Many Christians are now cynical because they have been hurt or disappointed by other Christians or churches. I was recently talking to one who was very proud of how he was now so “discerning” that he would not be fooled again. But, he had such a darkness of heart toward people, especially God’s people, that he was not close to anyone, nor could be. It would be much better to be continually deceived and hurt by people than to lose your love for them.

Do you think when we are standing before the judgment seat of Christ that He is going to commend us for all of the times we discerned a person was going to hurt us or deceive us in some way, so we rejected them before they got the chance? I think we are far more likely to be commended for the times we were hurt or used wrongly by others and forgave them, and by the trial were able to grow in love and the fruit of the Spirit.

If we are prone to “disputes” or to be argumentative, we are either proud fools who are unteachable, or we are wounded people whose wounds have not been healed, and because of this have forgotten how to love. Just as Jesus, who is the Truth, had to be hurt and crucified by the very ones He came to save in order to save them, if we have ceased to be hurt by anyone we have probably stopped walking in the kind of love that lead others to the salvation of the cross. We must bear the cross to lead others to it.

So, to be free of this destructive work of the flesh, let us learn to recognize the opportunity to love people and grow in patience when we hear them say things we do not think are true. Also, before challenging them, consider best how to do it with the most respect and dignity that will open them up to hear what we have to say. We can win arguments, but lose many friends. We do not want to compromise truth and integrity, but seek to stand for truth and integrity in the way that will most easily open others up to the truth.