Contention

"God is not upset that Gandhi was not a Christian, because God is not a Christian! All of God's children and their different faiths help us to realize the immensity of God."  -- Desmond Tutu

Just want to stress a scripture that came to my mind recently. It is from Jesus Christ to the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. He says  "he that has the spirit of contention is not of me but is of the devil."  I'm of the opinion that that is not a blanket statement, and that there are some instances where we actually need to contend. Some people are just completely wrong, cannot be reasoned with and violate basic human rights. In such cases war is inevitable and contention is right. 

However, I think what the Savior is saying here is that in the vast array of life circumstances, a peaceful uncontentious disposition is desired. I said it before on here, but we need to show love to our enemies and it will fare well for us if we do. We need to put away petty strife and be civil and respectful of others. So many times a foolish, rude comment or insensitive thing done or said is the cause of a painful contention and needless violence. No one wins in war really. 

 I am trying hard to watch my big contentious mouth and play civil politics more. I am trying to serve people I don't like and find the good in them.  If someone doesn't like me I want it to be said they hated me without a cause. I want to be a friend to all men if I can, even the enviers and haters.  

Also, I just want to mention as a practical note, that sometimes the innocent suffer most from our contentious mindsets. We may be justified but the haters and enviers take it out on our children and loved ones at times. It may be best to get along with these enemies until you can address those types of difficult problems. I think it is good that I don't have kids now because I have offended some people that would hurt them if they could.

So anyways, that's my gospel message for the day. It has come to my mind recently so maybe I'm the one who needs to work on it most; but hopefully you all are able to avoid any needless friction in your life from implementing these ideas. God bless.