Thursday; March 30

Do you find yourself in conflict with people? Are there some folks you seem to be always be fussing with? if so, what do we do with people like that? There are a lot of books and seminars about how to deal with people in difficult situations (or how to deal with difficult people in any situation), but there is a pretty simple answer to the question – make them your friends. I realize this may seem like a no-dah answer, but hear me out. If we don’t want to be adversaries, the best thing to do is convert them to being on your team. I believe there are a couple ways to do this. First, when the potential for a conflict is present, find something upon which you can agree. It may be as simple as what kind of ice cream you both like, but by building consensus on one thing we might be able to make progress on something else – maybe something bigger. Interestingly, once we share that moment, then it gives us something to return to when additional disagreements arise. A second thing is to genuinely build a lasting friendship. Some friendships just happen because people are drawn to each other, but others must be forged on purpose. By winning someone’s trust and comradery, our disagreements aren’t nearly as intense. When we do this, we are more apt to be able to have civil conversations on controversial topics … and maybe even more importantly, we are more apt to practice forgiveness in the heat of the moment.

In dealing with challenging situations, the Apostle Paul wrote, “’But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:20-21). Let’s learn to work together so we can be comfortable living together.

Think About It!

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