Proverbs - Settling Differences

Proverbs 18:18

The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

We can find ourselves in situations where passion and conviction bring men to a place where a decision must be made but there seems to be no give.  This could result in division and how the enemy likes to use division to accomplish his goals.  When we are in a place where there is not necessarily a right or wrong but rather strong preference, the casting of the lots might do us well to cease the division and get on with life. 

Casting lots means to do some sort of procedure where chance alone dictates the outcome as far as the human ability to influence its outcome.  Flipping a coin, choosing which hand has the coin and drawing straws are all forms of casting lots.  The Lord does not want us casting lots for those issues His Word and Spirit speak to us on, but when there is division between people because of preference casting lots can solve the problem.  When two children run for the same toy and deference is not what the Lord seems to be teaching them, a mother could flip a coin and for who is first and then set a time limit for the next player.  A mother would most likely not be blamed for showing favorites in this case.  Another good method for splitting portions of food is to let one child divide the portion and the other one gets to pick first which portion to consume.  Casting lots is not the way to run our lives but definitely comes in handy at times of contention.