(Don't) Put Another Log on the Fire
we need some rest
The weather is warming up in Michigan!
The sun is out longer into the evening and my family has already enjoyed a few bonfires in the back yard.
Living in the city, a bonfire feels like a portal to the woods while you’re still hours away from camping. Friends gather round for s’mores and stories, and we can still get to bed on time for school and work.
I love a backyard fire, but we’ve all been around a fire hoping for it to go out when a friend throws one more log on!
Maybe we had a long day or know we’ve got a lot coming up–we know we need some sleep. Something in us screams as a new log goes on the fire because we know things won’t cool down right away and we’re a little farther from rest.
Can I use this image to appeal that you might want to take a break from social media? Maybe you need to create some distance from a friend who is addicted to drama.
Proverbs understands how tiring it is when a friend keeps putting logs on the fire.
20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
Proverbs 26:20–21
Christians are not fire starters but peace makers. The church should not be a roaring furnace but a cooling station for gossip and conflict.
Are you cooling things down or adding another log?
Paul encourages fanning the gifts God has given into flame, not fueling controversial fires. He resonates with Proverbs in Titus 3:9–10,
9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.
2024 is an election year that is sure to raise many important topics of conversation. There are important arenas for meaningful debate about the Scripture and It’s application for our moment.
Even when we wrestle with big issues, let’s dampen gossip and quarreling in the church.
When you see a friend heading to put another log on the fire, tell them you need a little rest.