Confrontation Complications

Posted by Yakuti in Archives, Devotional | | 0 comments

Read it Aloud: But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed (Galatians 2:12).

Ponder it Prayerfully: Paul did not remain silent when he noticed that Peter was wrong. He did not fear flesh, or worry about the fact that Peter was the “chief” apostle. Instead, he confronted him and corrected him.

Confrontation is touchy. It complicates things. It’s easier to go with the flow, keeping your thoughts to yourself. It’s easier to pull a girlfriend to the side and whisper in her ear, or meet her for coffee, cake and a chat, or give her a call to submit a “prayer request” (aka start some good old gossip). Nobody wants to be disliked or seen as the “spoiler.” The result is that many times, we hold things within us, and nobody speaks, even though we are all thinking the same way. We slowly get angrier and angrier, and resent the “cause” of the problem.

It is better to confront a problem than to keep it to yourself. It can clarify issues. You might find that you are harbouring anger and resentment over something that has not even happened. Your speaking out might actually change the situation, restoring relationships. It creates respect; instead of trying to elevate yourself by remaining silent and appearing like one of the “team” when you really aren’t, you speak out, and your boldness, courage and honesty are acknowledged. People trust you and know you can be depended on in tough situatons.

Be a Doer (James 1:22): How do we deal with conflict? How do we face our problems? If we maintain our humility and keep God in mind, we will be able to get our concerns across without hurting others, and if we hurt them, the wounds inflicted will be the faithful wounds of a friend. The devil likes secrecy and discord. He would rather have us walking around with plastic smiles on our faces, thinking all is fine and dandy, only to discover years later that we have harboured resentment against each other. Confronting an issue head-on will break the enemy’s influence over the confronted area of a relationship and save everyone concerned a lot of heartache and complications. Jesus did not pretend nothing was wrong. He confronted issues as soon as they arose. He chased sellers from the temple (Matthew 21:12-13), spoke out boldly against the Pharisees (eg Matthew 23:27), and corrected those who doubted Him (Luke 7:39-47).

Hide it in Your Heart (Psalm 119:11): The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out (Proverbs 10:9).

Pray it Personally: Father in heaven, help me to be honest about my feelings when I feel that something is wrong or someone has been wronged. Help me to do like You did, Jesus, confronting issues wisely and with pure motives. Let me not seek to be esteemed by men, but rather let me long to walk in integrity and obey Your Word. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

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