“And in this corner…” (Proverbs 20)
January 6, 2023
Fred Flintstone, a popular cartoon character in the early 60’s, operated a dinosaur crane in a quarry at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company in a suburb named Bedrock. Married to Wilma, a modern stone aged wife, they often quarreled, mostly because she was put out about his laziness, tom-foolery, and unwise decisions.
Once I had a neighbor who worked in a quarry. I never knew a real life quarry worker and actually thought that was just for cartoons. And he was married to a woman, not named Wilma, but they quarreled a lot, in public, and usually about the foolish things he did. And when they quarreled in public, they often did this very unique thing—they would invite any neighbor who happened to be within earshot to “referee” their argument. Occasionally there were takers, but most of us chose to avoid their strife and scurry back inside our homes. It was more honorable to walk away than to get in the middle of the private fights they chose to make public.
The common denominators between Fred Flintstone and my neighbor were their occupations, quarry workers, and their preoccupations, quarreling. Is quarreling something only quarry workers do? After all, quarry and quarreling are very similar words. Scripture says that quarreling is something that fools, or unwise people do, regardless of their occupation, and that the better part of wisdom is to avoid the strife at all costs.
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. – Proverbs 20:3
With the growing popularity of Facebook, quarreling, bickering and squabbling can take place “in public” from the privacy of our own homes. And wouldn’t you know that the number one thing people quarrel about on this social network, in particular, is other people meddling in their business! If we make our business public, we are, in a sense, inviting other people to get involved.
The end credits scene for the Fred Flintstone cartoon, shows Fred putting out the cat for the night, but ends up getting locked out of his house. Fred begins to bang on the door and shout, “WILLLL-MA!” pleading for Wilma to come to his aid and unlock the door. Even though his screams were loud enough for his neighboring cave dwellers to hear, there is no indication that anyone got involved. Fred just may have spent the night on his front porch. It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife.