Where there are people, there will be conflicts. If you are constantly running away from conflicts, then you might as well live in a cave. Even there, your own soul will be in conflict with your heart!

Even when miracles were happening and God was blessing, there were still conflicts in the early church. One such conflict arose because of a misunderstanding or unintended neglect. The early church was ethically diverse and some Greeks felt that their widows were being neglected while the Hebrew widows were well taken care of. Now, this conflict was resolved peacefully by raising up seven godly men to deal with the issue. However, it teaches us that where there are people, even god-fearing people, there will be conflicts. (Acts 6:1-3)

This is a good model to follow as Christians. Several lessons:

1) Expect conflicts in the church. This WILL happen!

2) Don’t immediately think “flight.” Think, “Make peace!”

3) Give benefit of the doubt – “Maybe it’s the culture in which they grew up in” rather than “What’s wrong with them???”

4) Be constructive rather than destructive – More leaders were raised in the early church because of this.

5) Think of church as a “family” rather than a “club” (Club, you can leave as soon as it stops serving you, but family, not so…)

6) Involve the leaders but don’t depend completely on them to solve every problem – You become part of the solution rather than the problem.

7) Think about the kingdom first! It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus.

Conflicts will arise. But it’s how we manage and resolve those conflicts that we show the world that we belong to Christ.

PH