You have probably heard the phrase \u201cPick your battles\u201d. Also quoted: \u201cChoose your battles wisely\u201d. I’m sure it’s best said in actual wars and battles, but I’m referring to the time to open the door for an argument or a time to back down. You might have even said or thought the phrase yourself. I have. I have spared myself grief because I stayed silent when giving my opinion could have cost the price of peace. But there were times when I did speak my mind and later wished I could have reeled my words back in. It wasn\u2019t worth the battle that ensued. Tapping into God’s wisdom helps us \u201cpick our battles\u201d wisely.
Remember the old saying: \u201cCount to 10 before you speak!\u201d Apply that saying to \u201cpick your battles\u201d because it gives time to meditate about the negative direction the winds can blow with this potential battle. It could lead to major conflict and a long, cold night on the edge of the bed or the sofa!
My dear sister, Karen, who cares for almost 99 years old mom knows picking her battles wisely keeps the peace. Mom\u2019s communication skills have waned a lot, especially when it comes to what she remembers. What she communicates about are her present physical issues, present activities, and present conversations. Every now and then, she\u2019ll talk about something from the past, even as recent as yesterday. Though Karen knows that\u2019s not how the story went, she wisely chooses to not argue with Mom about it. Karen is a brilliant caregiver because what difference does it really make if Mom has the exact details down or not. Why do we have to prove our way is the right way?
Another picture that comes to mind was a few years ago When Payton, my grandson, was reaching toward the middle cinnamon rolls that are the softer and yummier ones, his mom interrupted the motion and alerted him: \u201cChoose wisely!\u201d She meant little sister wanted those rolls too and chaos could erupt. He took the outside roll, and oh, sweet peace, ensued. It\u2019s what married couples learn over the years — to stand down in a disagreement when \u201cbeing right\u201d doesn\u2019t really matter anyway.
Backing down is not always easy. Sometimes our pride gets in the way. Instead of weighing the pros and cons, we make unwise decisions to prove a point. Proverbs 16:18 says, \u201ca prideful heart always leads to destruction.\u201d What is there to prove if we\u2019ve lost peace and harmony in the process?
It is just as courageous to back down for the sake of others as it is to stand and fight. We can encourage ourselves often, even in the little things \u2013 the little wins — and do our best to rise above our wants, our needs, our desires and choose to follow the example of Jesus when He walked away from conflict time and again. There were times when He made His point, but He was resolute in being a peacemaker. I\u2019m sure He shook His head many times over His squabbling Motley Crew (the disciples) who followed Him. (Side note: You must see “The Chosen”. You’ll get a birds-eye-view of their boyish ways!) The tighter and closer we are to Jesus in principle and action \u2013 the more victory laps we\u2019ll take because we chose our battles wisely!
Philippians 2:14-15 \u201cDo everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You have probably heard the phrase \u201cPick your battles\u201d. Also quoted: \u201cChoose your battles wisely\u201d. I’m sure it’s best said in actual wars and battles, but I’m referring to the time to open the door for an argument or a time to back down. You might have even said or thought the phrase yourself. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21216,21215,21214],"tags":[1210,1769,7060,21212,12056,3257,40,4081,21211,17996,2679,17997,21213],"class_list":["post-14655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-count-to-10","category-gods-wisdom","category-pick-your-battles","tag-blog","tag-christian","tag-communication","tag-count-to-10","tag-courageous","tag-gods-wisdom","tag-inspiration","tag-peacemaker","tag-pick-my-battles","tag-pick-your-battles","tag-pride","tag-prideful-heart","tag-weigh-the-pros-and-cons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14655"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14657,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655\/revisions\/14657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}