Conflict

"Dialogue alone is insufficient to heal our wounds ... But dialogue with the courage to listen is a start." ~ John A. Powell, Director, Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley

Over and over again we run into conflict with each other. This is normal. And it doesn’t have to be unhealthy. In the best of cases, we’re just showing up as we really are and that rubs up against who someone else really is. But so often we get stuck in conflict. That’s what happened in the church in Philippi in the firs century. Paul writes to two women who were key leaders in the church, trying to bring in a third party to help them work out their stickiness:

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. - Philippians 4:2-3

Is there a conversation you are avoiding these days? Is there someone you’ve stopped talking to? Let’s not be overly simplistic and just assume we have to go talk to them. There can be good and healthy reasons to set up those boundaries. But there can also be situations where the Spirit is inviting us to step into a healthy conflict. Talk with Jesus about these things and see where it goes.