Day 32 · Week 5
Passage: Genesis 13:5–12; Philippians 2:3–4
Memory Verse: Matthew 5:5
Philippians 2:3 (KJV)
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
Abram and Lot had a problem. Their families, servants, and animals had grown so numerous that the land could not easily support them together. Arguments began between their herdsmen.
Abram was the older man. God had called him. He could have claimed the right to choose the best land.
Instead, he gave Lot the first choice.
Lot looked toward the well-watered plain and chose what appeared to be the better territory. Abram let him go.
Abram could do that because his future did not ultimately depend upon winning the better piece of ground. It depended upon God's promise.
Meekness gives us freedom not to turn every disagreement into a contest.
That does not mean we never express an opinion or defend an important principle. But many conflicts are not really about principle. They are about preference, pride, convenience, or wanting our own way.
In a family, someone has to choose the activity, the seat, the last piece, or what to watch. Sometimes love simply says, “You choose.”
When our security is in God, we do not have to win every small battle.
How can you tell the difference between an important principle worth standing for and a preference you can willingly give up?
Look for one unimportant preference today where you can gladly let someone else choose.
Ask Jesus to help your family value people more than getting your own way.