08/01/2026
👋🏻 Hey Church!
When was the last time you had to prepare for an upcoming confrontation? It's often one of the most uncomfortable things that we all have to do, but it's a necessary part of life. We all experience conflict in our families, at work, and even in our communities—it seems to be unavoidable.
❓ So if conflict is a part of life, then what can we learn from the Bible to navigate it?
While this won't be an exhaustive guide on that subject, there is one component that I've been thinking about lately. So often when we consider "conflict resolution" what we tend to focus on is the goal of the confrontation. "How do I get them to see that I'm right?", "How do I make sure this is done my way?", but how often do we consider "Where do I want our relationship to be after this?"
While that's hardly revolutionary, this idea stood out to me while reading 1 Corinthians in a group discussion recently. If you're familiar with the apostle Paul's turbulent relationship with the church in Corinth between his two epistles, you know that there was no shortage of conflicts to be resolved. Conflicts within the church, conflicts within families in the church, and conflicts between the church and himself.
Yet with that in mind, notice the genuine warmth that Paul begins this difficult letter with,
📖 "4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. 6 In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
If you stopped reading his letter right there, you would hardly believe that Paul is about to challenge the Corinthians on sexual immorality, internal lawsuits, and church discipline. Instead, you can feel the genuine love and compassion that Paul is extending towards them. It's clear that he wants to remind them of the unity that they can share together through Jesus Christ.
Our natural instinct, when we engage in conflict, is to see our "opponents" as our enemies. Truth be told, some situations do require firm boundaries, but how does an "enemy" mentality affect your relationship with your spouse? What about your friends, your coworkers, or even your church? If we want to resolve conflict in a healthy way, we need to remind ourselves of the bonds that we share with each other and no bond should be stronger than one shared in Christ.
🫂 So while we don't like to think about the "next time" we're going to find ourselves in a conflict, we all know that it's going to happen. When it does, I'd like to encourage you to ask yourself this simple question before you say anything: "Where do I want our relationship to be after this?"
- Pastor Michael
