Pursue the things which make for peace and the building
up of one another. (Rom. 14:19)Not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on
the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for
this, so that you can inherit a blessing. (1 Pet. 3:9 HCSB)Homes and families, marriages and children can all too
easily devolve into combat zones—which was the last thing in
the world you ever foresaw when you pledged your life to your
husband at the wedding altar, when you brought home that
bundle of joy from the delivery room. What I’m telling you is
this: You may not be able to control all the discord and unwise
choices that occur in the various corners of your house or
among the people you share a family with. But you can make
sure the only place you engage in combat is in the heavenlies,
in prayer, in secret. The enemy who’s intent on disrupting the
peace in your home doesn’t flinch when you try to force your
own fixes upon it, but he does start worrying when a wife, a
mother, a daughter, or a sister starts avoiding the noise at the
periphery and starts making some noise of her own, right
outside the door to the devil’s workshop.