Ya'll Gone Make Me Lose My Mind Up In Here, Up In Here!

^15-17 “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love. Matthew 18:15-20 The Message Bible

Many of us struggle with the dreadful "C" word, conflict. Conflict is a part of life. There is good conflict and bad conflict. Some of us are taught to avoid conflict, but that can lead to misunderstandings, assumptions, lies, and torn relationships. We have to use conflict as a tool to get certain things accomplished. If you know you have a worker that is constantly late, and doesn't perform well, you have to speak to them, even if it may create conflict. They may not think coming in late is a big deal. But, in order to see change and make the work environment what it should be, a discussion has to be made. Some people hate conflict so much and want to always be the "good person", they will set other people up to be the criticizer and to take the hits. But, God has given us a road map on how to handle it in the above scripture. If you do not belong to a church, then go to a supervisor, friend, leader, family member, elder to be the unbiased mediator and witness. Work to settle the situation. Make sure that you and the other person is heard. (Rephrasing is a good tool to use). Most of the time conflict comes into our lives to make us better.So, next time you see conflict coming, don't run from it, speak the truth in love, hear what the other person is saying, and try to come to an end result that will be for the good (and that maybe losing something or someone). And most of all, learn from the conflict, what to or not to do next time you find yourself in a similar situation.