Life on Planet Earth on Conflict Resolution

Quote

Author

Keywords

Conflict is a painful fact of life. Many of us have not experienced the trauma of war or the violence of racism, but we have all been wounded by words.

Quote

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.

illustration

Dealing with Conflict Directly

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 10:12, 2 Timothy 2:24-25, Romans 12:17-18, James 1:19-20, Proverbs 25:11-12, Galatians 6:1, Matthew 18:15

If someone has done something wrong even at a personal level, the right thing to do is not to gossip about it, not to tell everybody else, not to allow resentment to build up and fester, and certainly...

illustration

Solving the World’s Problems

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:23-24, Ephesians 4:2-3, Romans 12:17-21, Colossians 3:13, Proverbs 15:1, Psalm 34:14

Warren Robinson Austin was an American politician and diplomat serving both in the U.S. Senate and the United Nations as a U.S. ambassador. During a debate, Austin was asked how he would approach the ...

liturgy

May the Lord of love keep us all in

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 16:25-34, Luke 24:13-35, John 8:1-11, Mark 4:35-41, Philippians 4:4-7, Psalm 40:8, Titus 2:11-12

May the Lord of love keep us all in peace, transform our conflict into the beauty of his grace, and give us joyful hearts to do his will. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A...

liturgy

Loving God, you are always ready to

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Loving God, you are always ready to forgive our sins. We are much less eager to forgive those with whom we disagree. So often when we have something against our friends, family, or strangers, we escal...

liturgy

O Lord and Father of the household of

Author

Hughes Oliphant Old

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-2, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:10, Micah 6:8, James 5:16

O Lord and Father of the household of faith, we thank you for the gift of faith worked within us by your Holy Spirit. We thank you for having called us to yourself, for consecrating us to your ser...

illustration

Tearing the Leech Off

Author

Gary Preston

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:13, Romans 12:17-21, 1 Peter 3:9, Proverbs 19:11, Luke 17:3-4

There’s a story about a traveler making his way with a guide through the jungles of Burma. They came to a shallow but wide river and waded through it to the other side. When the traveler came out of t...

illustration

A Grudge Holding Back Healing

Author

Rick Love

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:14-16

As a young pastor, I wanted to pray for Jean, who had been sick in bed for about a week. So I took Mike, a fellow leader in the church, with me to her home. Her husband, Jim, greeted us at the door an...

illustration

Patience is a Hard Discipline

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:25, James 5:7-8, Isaiah 40:31, Galatians 5:22, Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a co...

illustration

A Failure to Appreciate the Other’s Point of View

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 18:13, Matthew 18:16, Romans 12:18, Proverbs 20:3, Matthew 5:24

Most quarrels are due to a misunderstanding, and the misunderstanding is due to our failure to appreciate the other person’s point of view. It is more natural to us to talk than to listen, to argue th...

illustration

Mutual Accusations

Author

William Ury

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:8-13, Matthew 7:3-5, Romans 14:10-13, Luke 6:41-42, James 6:41-42, James 4:11-12, Ephesians 4:31-32

In the mid-1980s, I helped facilitate a series of conferences between top Soviet and American policy advisers on the question of how to prevent a nuclear war. The times were tense and the accusations ...

illustration

The Key Word in a Disagreement

Author

Buster Benson

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-13, Matthew 5:44, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Philippians 2:3-4, James 3:17, Proverbs 15:1, 2 Timothy 2:24-25

The key word in our definition of a disagreement (an unacceptable difference between two perspectives), isn’t “difference.” It’s “unacceptable.” Once the clash between perspectives becomes unacceptabl...

Quote

Author

Charles Williams

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 6:14-15, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, Luke 17:3-4, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:13

Many promising reconciliations have broken down because, while both parties came prepared to forgive, neither party came prepared to be forgiven.

Quote

Author

Winston S. Churchill

Keywords

Never let a good crisis go to waste.

illustration

The Fruit of a Productive Disagreement

Author

Buster Benson

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 17:22, Romans 12:10, Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 15:22, Matthew 11:15

A productive disagreement yields fruit: the fruit of security, by removing a threat, reducing a risk, resulting in a deal, or concluding with a decision; the fruit of growth, by revealing new informat...

Quote

Author

M. Scott Peck

Keywords

The overall purpose of human communication is - or should be - reconciliation. It should ultimately serve to lower or remove the walls of misunderstanding which unduly separate us human beings, one fr...

illustration

Living In Peace and Forgiveness with our Neighbors

Author

Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice

Keywords

Sometimes, the Christian faith can be confounding to the outside world. Enemies can become friends, even to the point of caring for and protecting each other. In this short story from the small Africa...

Quote

Author

Osheta Moore

Keywords

Peace is fierce—it has to be, because violence and discord won’t go down without a fight.

Quote

Author

Albert Einstein

Keywords

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.

illustration

Be Slow to Sue

Author

Antonin Scalia

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:1-8, Matthew 18:15-17, Romans 12:18, James 3:17-18, Proverbs 15:1

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia argues how Christians ought to resolve conflict based on 1 Corinthians 6: I think this passage [1 Cor. 6:1–8] has something to say about the pro...

liturgy

Lord Almighty, you tell us that if we

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 11:27-34

Lord Almighty, you tell us that if we have a quarrel with another, we are to make amends before coming to worship. We seek your mercy today – for all of us live at odds with others to varying degrees....

Quote

Author

Brenda Salter McNeil

Keywords

Most of us need this type of push to help us start the [reconciliation] journey. We need someone or something to push us out of our comfort zones and the isolated social enclaves that keep us alienate...

illustration

The Line Runs Through

Author

Fleming Rutledge

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Peter 3:8-9, Philippians 2:3-4, James 1:19-20, Ephesians 4:2-3, Romans 12:16-18, Romans 3:23

In any polarized situation, the overriding human tendency is to draw a line with oneself and one’s allies on the good side and the opposing party on the wicked side, with very little attempt made by e...

Quote

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 11:25, Matthew 6:12-15, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 6:37, Luke 6:27, Luke 17:3-4, Luke 23:34, Matthew 26:28, Matthew 5:23-24, Matthew 5:44

Jesus is a reconciler of people, not a divider. He wants to bring people together, not finalize separations.

Quote

Author

John of Kronstadt

Keywords

Problems

Do not fear the conflict, and do not flee from it; where there is no struggle, there is no virtue.

illustration

Resolved: To Use My Words For God’s Glory

Author

Jonathan Edwards

Keywords

The great pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards wrote up a series of resolutions regaring his personal life and behavior. These resolutions relate to the tongue: 31. Resolved, Never to say anything...

illustration

Scars Tell Beautiful Stories

Author

Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart

Keywords

Scripture

John 21:15-25

In their excellent book, Mending the Divides , Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart describe a Japanese pottery tradition that articulates the power of peace and reconciliation: When we speak of peace, we c...

Quote

Author

Justin Martyr

Keywords

We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.

illustration

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Author

Irwyn L. Ince Jr.

Keywords

Years ago, Rodney King was brutally and tragically beaten by Los Angeles police officers. The city exploded in riots for six days after three of the four police officers, each of whom were white, were...

life on planet earth on Conflict Resolution

illustration

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai