TO FILL A LITTLE SPACE

Living in the world entails interactions with several people in a variety of situations,and for multiple reasons. Among those we encounter, and have dealings with, there is no question some persons will be difficult and unpleasant.

Christians are not exempt from that experience because, after all, the Christian church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners. Supposedly, it is through the frequent, effective preaching and teaching of God’s Truth that lives can be mended, as people submit themselves to the authority of Holy Scripture for life renewal.

In local congregations, especially, it is almost inevitable that anywhere, anytime, anyone will encounter individuals who may be classified as a “one-man grievance committee always in session.” These are people perpetually dissatisfied with something, and if there is nothing around to displease them, they will quickly create a situation which enables them to spew their venom on others, and dwell in negativity.

However unpleasant this is, many Christians cannot fully escape such reality and challenge. And one resolves it not by running away from it but by seeking better ways of constructively dealing with it. As author Cavett Robert views it, “many can learn to manage things only but a few become proficient in managing people.”

While we shall face some situations beyond our ability to resolve, I am convinced that most people problems in church and elsewhere can be corrected. To that end we need to give time, exercise patience, manifest wisdom, and prayerfully commit the issue in question to the Lord.

The natural human tendency is to avoid the people who are antagonistic, or those who actually have caused us harm. Perhaps the best way is to seek them out and, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, determine what is wrong, and take the necessary steps toward a sound resolution. Even when things ultimately don’t work out to our full satisfaction, we shall still retain a sense of peace for having done what is proper and right. So much that causes conflict is often a misunderstanding, and that can be corrected through dialogue. On the other hand, if we show no interest, and if we ignore the person and the problem, the conflict may augment, thus causing permanent harm to many.

Although there will always be relationships and situations we shall need to mend, sometimes we can make our own life easier by the personal interest we consistently show towards people and through the motivation we offer to them. Like in any interaction, someone has to make the first move and we can, and perhaps should, be the ones to take the initiative both to avoid as well as to correct conflicts.

For quite some time I have been attempting to practice the sound counsel from the famous German poet, Goethe: “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

Our common challenge is to keep our speech seasoned with salt, and our whole lives as fully reflective of the love of God at work in and through us. Although this is much easier done when nobody is adversely affecting our nerves, that posture needs to characterize us at all times, by the grace of God, and for His glory alone!

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 9:53 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.