Unresolved conflict is a joy-stealer

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Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Living with joy”

Our Bible verse for today: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:2-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Unresolved conflict is a joy-stealer”

I dislike unresolved conflict. It steals my joy. That’s why Paul urges us in Romans 12:18 to make an attempt to live at peace with everyone, as much as it is up to you. The implication is that sometimes people won’t let us live in peace with them and therefore, there will not be peace in that relationship. But to the extent that we can, we are to try to resolve conflict if possible and to live in peace with people. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:9, Jesus called for us to be the peacemakers.

In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul addresses two ladies in the church in Philippi who had an ongoing and unresolved conflict that was evidently spilling over into the congregation. That is exactly the kind of situation Satan looks for and seeks to exploit.

Remember the context within which Paul is addressing this issue. The letter to the Philippians is all about joy in Christ. So now Paul forces us to think about an issue that is a guaranteed joy-stealer. Unresolved conflict steals the joy of the individuals involved in it, and sooner or later it always spills over and begins to affect others as well. Often those involved in the conflict won’t be able to resist drawing others into it. Misery loves company. Also, we naturally want to get others to agree with us. We seek others to validate our thinking and our position. And by doing that we spread our own dark cloud of negative thinking until it envelopes others, maybe even an entire congregation.

Paul wouldn’t allow for that and neither should we. Whether we’re talking about conflicts in the church or anywhere else in life, the most important thing we can do is to acknowledge it for what it is, bring it out into the light of day, and deal with it.

Unresolved conflict is a joy-stealer, for us and for everyone else it touches. There’s more that needs to be said about this and so, we will continue this tomorrow. For now, if you have an unresolved conflict and there is a chance it can be dealt with, I encourage you to make the effort to do so.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville
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