Grabbing a dog by the ears.

You wouldn't be that stupid, would you? Yes. Yes, you would.

The world is frequently referred to as a madhouse or a lunatic asylum and as the saying goes, it would appear that the lunatics have taken over said asylum. So, with this being a particularly mad time, and we are on the cusp of 2025, I figure why not look at some simple nuggets of pure wisdom? Things that may not apply to how things transpire in the grand scheme of things, but that can apply to our lives individually; and if we dwell on them and we heed them, and apply them, it might make that ride through 2025 just that little bit easier.

So, I'm reading the book of Proverbs in the Bible, and I'm going to look at some verses from that book, which is essentially a simple wisdom manual. First up we have this gem;

He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

Proverbs 26 v 17.

Read that again. "He that passes by and meddles with strife that does not belong to him is like one that takes a dog by the ears." Now, would you be so crazy as to grab a dog by the ears?

You grab a dog by the ears, either coming from behind or coming from the front, there is a very high probability that the dog will become agitated if you grab its ears, and it will turn on you. Understandably so. It will get aggressive with you, it may even cause you injury, injury that will be solely your own fault. Why? Because you don't grab a dog by the ears. And I'm sure no one reading this piece today has ever been so stupid as to grab a dog by the ears; however, how many of us have passed by and become entangled in, or began meddling with, strife or conflict that does not belong to us? We wouldn't be so stupid as to take a dog by the ears, but heck, can we be stupid enough to get involved with strife and friction and conflict that does not involve us?

Getting dragged into petty squabbles, getting dragged into feuds between warring parties that we really have no place getting involved in, starting to give our opinions on things between warring factions of people or arguing parties that we really have no business giving an input on because it doesn't affect us. And then before you know it, you're dragged into that strife, you're dragged into that warfare that you had no place being in, in the first instance.

So think about that the next time you reply to something or get involved with an argument that you've no place being in. Sometimes you just got to let it be and just keep walking by because it doesn't concern you. “He or she that passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him or her is like one that takes a dog by the ears.”

Notice this is something that you probably will just happen upon, not something that you purposely get involved with. You just are on the sidelines, you happen to overhear something, you happen to read something and then you pitch in and before you know it you're in the middle of it. Don't do it. Don't be a fool. You might as well go and take a dog by the ears. The stupidity levels are equal.

Let’s move on to the next one.

An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.

A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

Proverbs 16 v 27-28.

In this world at this particular time there are no shortage of troublemakers. No shortage of people that will stir up the pot. Some people feel they're doing it righteously, other people are just simply troublemakers. They like to cause friction. They like to stir up conflict.

“An ungodly man or woman digs up evil.” A lot of evil out there is buried. But there are plenty of ungodly men with spades. They dig it up. “And in their lips there is a burning fire.” They like to set things on fire. They like to flame. They like to verbally abuse. They like to criticize incessantly. They like to lie. They like to stir up division. Burning fire in their lips. And a froward man (or a perverse man) sows strife.

Sows strife like a farmer sows seeds. And when you sow strife after a period of time you will have a harvest of war and conflict and division and friction. A perverse man sows strife. “And a whisperer separates chief friends.”

There's a lot of whisperers out there too. A lot of whisperers going to and fro. Sending little messages, whispering behind backs. People you think are your friends could be out there whispering behind your back to separate you from your true best friends. You know, when people see a bond of friendship, a tight bond of friendship they can want to break that bond for many reasons. They may be jealous. They may realise that that bond of friendship could be a threat to them. To what they do. To what they say. To who they are pretending to be. To how they operate.

So they try to split it. They try to separate chief friends. And one of the ways that they can do that is by whisper, whisper, whisper. Little whisperings. Little words in ears here and there. A little message here and there. “Don't tell them I said this but... Never let on I said this, but…I think you should know this concerning this person…”

It may or may not be true, but their motive is to separate. Their motive is not to inform. Their motive is not to save someone from some hurt. It is to separate. And to separate chief friends. So when someone comes to you whispering in your ear, maybe concerning someone you are very close with, ask the person concerned about it directly. And take it from there.

The whisperer is banking on the fact that you will keep it to yourself, that you will stew on it, that the strife that they have sowed into your relationship or into your life will produce a harvest of division and a harvest of conflict. So be wary of the whisperer and be wary of the angry man or woman.

Here’s another beauty;

It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

Proverbs 21 v 19.

This is what it says. It is better to live in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman (or a contentious and an angry man). Some people fear being homeless. Some people fear losing the roof over their heads. Some people fear the stigma that comes with not having your own home or being between residences, especially if there is a break up or if there is some kind of a falling out between a family member, between a partner, between a relative, whatever it happens to be.

But the Bible is clear. It says it is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman (or man). There are many of us who are keeping company with angry contentious people, and we fear not being around those people because we have other people in common. We have groups that we share, we have social circles that we share and we worry sometimes about how people will view us. If we walk away from that, will we appear rude, will we appear obnoxious, will we appear aloof and standoffish?

Well, if the one you keep company with is contentious and angry, it is better to separate and dwell in the wilderness than to dwell with them in comfort. So spare yourself that pain and get the heck out of that situation. It will do you good.

Lastly, lets look at this;

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27 v 6.

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

Sometimes, it can appear that the people closest to you are wounding you; you can feel hurt by the things that they say and the things that they do. But if they are coming from a place of love and a place of genuine concern for you, sometimes we need tough love and to told brutal truths. Sometimes we need to have hard actions taken against us to get us to wake up and see that maybe we are going the wrong way, we are hanging around with the wrong people, we are doing the wrong thing, we are sliding into the pit.

Maybe a word will be had, maybe something will be done to cut us off for a period of time and it can feel like our friends are wounding us, and they are. But the wounds of a friend are faithful. Then kisses of an enemy however are something else. They are deceitful. Many of our enemies can also see us going the wrong way and instead of stopping us from going that way, they will encourage us to continue on that path.

They will spur us on going in the wrong direction, they will put an arm around our shoulder and help us along that path to destruction, all the while kissing us on the cheek. Like Judas the traitor betrayed Christ with a kiss, our enemies can betray us or wound us with a kiss. They do not seek our betterment, they do not seek our peace, they do not seek for us to become established, rather they seek for us to be destroyed. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

So, just some things to be pondering about in this funny little period between Christmas and New Year. “That funny week”, as some people call it.

Mull on the above, think about these simple truths and watch out for the whisperer, watch out for the angry man or woman, and avoid trouble that doesn't belong to you. It could save you a lot of unnecessary pain and aggro in 2025.