Pugnacious (Proverbs 29:22)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “pugnacious.”  I remember growing up trying to keep my nose clean.  i needed to be on my best behavior so I could have a social life, play sports, etc.  I think I did pretty good job. My brother, on the other hand, had quite the difficult trek through high school. Part of it, and actually most of it, was probably the fact that he never really did anything bad. But, even worse, he was the one who was there to laugh when one of his friends did something stupid.

Angry people stir up conflict; hotheads cause much offense.” ~Pr. 29:22

My question is: who are the people that you spend the most time with? Like many high school kids, the friends that my brother chose to hang around with had a ton of fun…  many times at the expense of others. They were a pretty pugnacious bunch, always looking for something and someone to hassle. This was a pretty tough few years for my parents.  I realized by watching some of the strife that my brother got into, that much of it could’ve been avoided. My prayer is that you check the company that you keep. If we are the sum of  those we hang around with, it would be wise to make sure that those people have good character traits, people we want to be like. And, also as important, is knowing that you influence others, and should do your best as a Christian to give those people a reason to be more like you.

Praying for you,

MO