Conflict

Week 8
Kelly Jones
March 12th, 2009
Conflict

From the very beginning of creation, humanity wanted to be God.

Adam and Eve were living in pure bliss with God. God had provided everything they needed right at their finger tips. There was no need for hard work or labor, worry about finances, or where their next meal was going to come. Eden was a true paradise. The only rule they were given was to not eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil. That was all. This is where deception and conflict come into play. Crafty Satan came in the form of a serpent to deceive Adam and Eve. Eve tries to combat what Satan is telling her, ‘God did not really mean you must not eat from the tree…Are you sure?....One bite would not hurt…” Then, Satan uses just the right words, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Of course Eve wanted to be like God. God loved them, provided for them, and took care of them. She wanted to be like her Creator.

We know what happens in the rest of the story. They ate and the fate of all humanity was broken. So how does this relate to conflict? When there is conflict, there are two wills or more in disagreement and desiring different things. God created us all differently—personality types, interests, likes, dislikes, etc. Get a handful of people that are complete opposites and there is bound to come some conflict.

So what are we to think of conflict as Christians? Is it sinful? How do we stop it?

Here are 5 theological understandings of conflict:

1.Conflict is Biblical
God uses conflict to test, to humble, and to grow His children. We see throughout the Bible stories of people in conflict with one another. Previously mentioned, Adam and Eve had a conflict—once they made the B IG boo boo of eating the fruit, they began to point fingers! When we go to the New Testament, we read countless stories of conflict amongst the disciples.

2.Good Conflict vs. Bad Conflict
Good conflict will produce healthy change. Bad conflict will produce scars, harden hearts, and take us back a few hundred steps in a progress to becoming the holy people God created us to be. Cain and Abel, remember how that conflict came about? Cain was furious but never dealt with the conflict going on between him and his brother. Instead of working it out, he killed Abel. Not a good way of resolving conflict. What we see from this story is the evilness that can produce when we allow conflict to stir within us. Conflict that is not confronted or is completely selfish is a grand concoction for bad conflict.

3.Conflict is a catalyst for change
Conflict keeps us from hiding. Being confronted about a moral or immoral issue or action we have taken, we left to examine ourselves. God does not want us to be stagnant old grumugens that say in their own nasty ways. God wants us to grow and learn from our mistakes. When we are in conflict with another person or persons, He wants us to use that as a catalyst for change. What we must continually ask ourselves when dealing with conflict is this, “How do we respond when we are confronted?”

4.We can honor God through conflicts
It is all about how we handle ourselves during conflict. Remembering to focus on God’s wisdom during conflict and not our selfish, prideful desires is a sure way to use conflict for change and to honor God.

5.More of Christ, less of me mentality
Allow Christ to work through you and be your center. We are called to take up our cross and sacrifice our selfish desires for Christ.