The Battle

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

This past week I heard one of the best messages on conflict resolution. Here it is Tuesday and the message is still resonating in my mind. 

Conflict is a part of life, The N.T. writer James tells us the reason for our conflicts;

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. James 4:1-2

As fallen people, conflict is a part of life; conflicts are seen in our homes, in our churches and in our nation and the results are devastating. Fractured families, divided churches and government gridlock can all be traced back to conflict.

Jesus was right, If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. Mark 3:25 

For God's people, conflict is not the normal state of life. In fact the New Testament is clear how we are to handle conflict. 

Matthew 18 gives us steps for conflict resolution.

Romans 12:17-18 reminds us we are to be proactive when it comes to avoiding conflict.

Jesus said love, not conflict would be the true signal we were followers of Him.

Paul's words in Philippians 2, reminds us to look to the attitudes of Christ as the model for avoiding conflict.

With so much instruction from scripture why is conflict so common among God's people? I believe it is because of the battle we wage on a daily basis; the battle of the mind. We think incorrectly, we give in to irrational thoughts and question the motives of others. Thus conflict is inevitable. 

If we are going to have less conflict in our lives it is essential we win the battle of the mind. If we do not we are destined to face conflict frequently. 

Life is to short to be mired down in conflict. If you have a conflict with someone today, I would challenge you to deal with it quickly. If not you may face consequences you never expected. 

I hope you are battle ready!