CONFLICT ~
You can't live with him...You can't live without him.
July 20, 2009
I have been pondering conflict.
Not world conflict, nor social conflict but that personal, in-your-face, conflict in marriage. I guess my thoughts on conflict have surfaced because of my most recent exchange with my own mate. Remember Church or no-Church?
If you are married, you deal with conflict. After all, we are human, broken and flawed. What troubles me is so often conflict is avoided or handled inappropriately. Therefore, I think we need to take a look at some real situations and discover how conflict is handled appropriately and through the lens of the Bible.
As I was in my quiet time a few days ago, speaking to the Lord, the following found its way into my prayer journal:
I wonder if many of us have a view that as a Christian, we must be the spouse who refrains from conflict. It is our duty as a follower of Christ to always be the peace maker and give in to the demands of our spouse and don’t rock the boat?
There are scriptures that point to this conclusion:
Proverbs 13:3 3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.
Ephesians 4: 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
And then there is this one:
James 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Yikes!
It’s all so confusing.
There are times we should keep our mouth shut. Such was the case last week when my husband was moving slowly on Sunday morning and I thought we would be late to church, again. You may remember, I took control of my thoughts and then my mouth and said nothing. It was the right thing to do.
However, three weeks earlier the conflict that erupted between us in the most inopportune place and at the most in opportune time was necessary. Perhaps I could have made an issue of this growing church or no-church conflict at home later in the day. However, I am convinced the impact would have been feeble, my words ignored, and resolution of our differences would still be hanging out there.
People, there are times we not only need to rock the boat but we need to get out of the boat.
Now, don’t panic. You know I am not leading this conversation toward throwing in the towel. No, I want to look honestly at proper conflict and our responsibilities as believers in these unique marriages.
So how do we start to define this vast issue of conflict resolution? Let’s start with this; Is it Godly to draw the line in the sand?
What do you think?
Have a blessed week and stay tuned for more on CONFLICT, Can’t live with him. Can’t live without him. Lynn