How to Insure Trouble

Rev. T. Robert Ingram tells of a Navy commander in WWII who, during his first battle, issued grand orders “Fire one, fire two” only to erupt in panic when the enemy fired back: “The dirty so-and-so is shooting back at me!” Many are like him: bold when attacking others, shocked when the fire is returned. I once knew a woman whose razor tongue made every meeting miserable, yet she collapsed in outrage when anyone dared critique her. Scripture calls such people fools, for “he that… meddleth with strife not belonging to him is like one that taketh a dog by the ears” (Prov. 26:17); grab a dog’s ears and you deserve the bite. If you poke at people, expect them to poke back; the gossip will be gossiped about, the troublemaker troubled. As Spurgeon said, “Beware of no man more than yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.”