10 Days Until Easter
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”
When Jesus talks about managing something, he is referring to the proper responsibilities that come with an investment. A steward does not manage things for his own pleasure but for the pleasure of his master. This is how we should think of conflict. Conflict is not God’s curse on you, it’s in the words of one writer, “a management opportunity.”
It is quite fascinating how these virtues build on one another. We can say that love and joy prepare us to manage conflict well. Someone who is selfish and prideful will look at conflict as a way of getting what they want. They will not steward conflict with godliness. In short, stewarding conflict will require love and joy.
So, in the middle of conflict, we need to realize that these principles need to be at work. We are to remind ourselves that the goal of conflict is peace. And only Jesus can guide us in this journey for he is our peace.
Prayer: Our gracious Father, I know that I have a tendency to either pursue conflict or avoid it altogether. But it is inescapable as a Christian. I ask that you would keep me in your peace so that I may manage well the confusion that sometimes emerges in my conflicts with others. I pray this through Jesus Christ who is our peace, amen.
