Several new sports were added to the roster of Olympic games this year, including karate, rock climbing and skateboarding. Something that has not yet been added to the list, however, is quarrelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If quarrelling were a competitive sport, there would be many great contenders for the gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, there is one man in Jewish history whose name is synonymous with disagreement and conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Korach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Jewish People left Mount Sinai on their way to the promised land, Korach launched a rebellion against Moses. He claimed that Moses had unfairly promoted his own brother Ahron to be the High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. The claim assumed that Moses was calling the shots, and not God, thereby challenging everything Moses said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rift that ensued between Korach and his followers on the one side, and Moses and Ahron on the other side, was a very painful narrative in our history. In the end, it took Divine intervention to solve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a miraculous vindication of His faithful servant Moses, the Almighty opened up a hole under the feet of Korach and his mighty quarrellers and swallowed them alive, proving once and for all that their claim was \u201cgroundless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story concludes with an eternal lesson: don\u2019t be like Korach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What makes a person start a fight like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Korach\u2019s case, it was his desire to take the role of High Priest for himself. His grand accusations were a sham\u2014what really motivated him was plain old jealousy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And his mistake is not uncommon. We are naturally motivated by our own desires and self interest. Take the following story for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarah walked up to the community bulletin board where she found Beth in a fit of anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Beth?\u201d Sarah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho runs this place? I\u2019m so upset with the way they do things!\u201d Beth responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d asked Sarah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey took down the sign that was here yesterday!\u201d Beth answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhose sign was it?\u201d Sarah asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was my<\/em> sign,\u201d Beth replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re much more likely to get upset about a personal offense than from a violation of our values and principles. Rarely is a person driven to anger and conflict by ideals alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And since that\u2019s the case, when we find ourselves seething and indignant, we must first pause and check our motivation and make sure we\u2019re not acting like Korach \u2014 we\u2019re not sacrificing shalom for our own selfish reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try this today: If you find yourself getting angry, pause. Take a moment to reflect and see if there\u2019s some self interest that might be the cause of your anger.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several new sports were added to the roster of Olympic games this year, including karate, rock climbing and skateboarding. Something that has not yet been added to the list, however, is quarrelling.<\/p>\n If quarrelling were a competitive sport, there would be many great contenders for the gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-850","daily-lesson","type-daily-lesson","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-normal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n