1 Corinthians 11:16
If any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
If anyone is looking for a fight, you will find one. If someone wants to contend with us, they will find contention. Paul is not looking to stir up trouble here, but to diffuse it. He is not looking for things to fight about, but wants those who like to fight to know that they won't win this one.
Invite the fight.
Do not do everything to avoid the fray. Do not seek to stir up strife where there is none, but be so well-prepared and in such fighting trim that some enemy combatants think twice and take care of themselves before ever messing around to find out.
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." — George Washington, First Annual Address To Both Houses of Congress; Friday, January 8, 1790
Communicating your strength can be an effective way of calling others to stand down before they march down.
Si vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war)
Peacemakers are not those who never fight. Peacekeepers are the kind of pacifists that cause more bloodshed by abdication than they would have had by an altercation. Peacemakers make peace. They don't merely wish for it, they make it happen.
Sometimes we need to define what we are willing to fight about and declare that we are prepared to win if it comes to that.
"Spalatin, there are two ways of saying, 'No' to someone you believe to be stronger than yourself. The first is to say nothing and go on merely doing what you were doing before, and pretend that you never heard, allow time and inertia to be your allies."
"And the second?"
"And the second is to say, 'No,' in such a kind and thoughtful way it befuddles them. Naturally, if both these strategies fail, there is nothing but to relent... Or to fight: And of course, if you decide to fight, you also have to decide to win." — Luther (movie, 2003)
If you decide to fight, you also have to decide to win.
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