Stress in Relation to Conflict

This is the lesson from January 20, 2008

Things to look forward to:
Lesson by John Haney next week (January 27)
Lesson by Tony Murphy on February 24


Baselines for today’s lessons:
• There are no genuine relationships without conflict.
Marriages, Christian communities, Sunday school classes, families, work communities, and neighborhoods
• One of the sources of stress in our lives is unresolved conflict.
• As Christians, we are called to seek resolution and reconciliation for the conflicts of which we are a part. {Can you think of scriptural calls for this perspective}
Love our enemies, pray for those who persecute you
Forgive those who trespass against us
Love one another as I have loved you
Romans: 12:18 If possible, in as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Love your neighbor even as you love yourself.
Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted forgiving each other

Wake-Up Exercise: Five principles related to conflicts and their resolutions. Use words on the right to complete statements on the left.

1. Unity is not the __________ of conflict but the result of __________ conflict.

2. Faulty _________ almost always leads to flawed interpretation that provoke wrong __________ with potentially disastrous __________.

3. Resolution is not possible without __________.

4. Good conflict resolutions nearly always begin with __________ rather than __________.


5. ___________ is not possible without cooperation. Use the words at most once. Some will not be used.

Cooperation
Communication
Carbohydrates
Information
Questions
Interpretations
Absence
Accusations
Lawyers
Resolved
Conclusions
Pork pie hats
Results
Reconciliation





The authors of our materials claim that we can see evidence of these principles in the following story. I am going to tell the story and as I tell it, I want you to listen for examples of the five principles.

Tell story from Joshua 22:

As the twelve tribes of Israel entered the Promised Land, 10 of the tribes crossed to the Western Side of the Jordan river while 2 of the tribes (Gad and Reuben) located on the eastern side. The tabernacle, an elaborate tent structure that housed the central place of worship of God, crossed the Jordan with the majority and was located at Shiloh. This was designated the official place of worship of God.

A rumor arrived at Shiloh. The two tribes who stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan were building a huge altar. As the weeks passed, the rumors became more excited. Not only were they building a large altar. On this altar they were going to start burning sacrifices to Gods other than Jehovah. That really caused a stir. Before long, the ten tribes were forming an army to cross the Jordan, tear down the altar, and punish the wayward tribes. However, some wise head intervened, and before the armies crossed the Jordan, a delegation was sent led by a man named Phineas.

The delegation arrived from Shiloh and faced the elders of the two eastern tribes. Phineas asked these questions:
How could you break faith with God like this?
How could you build this altar in rebellion to God?
Don’t you know that your sin will result in punishment for us all?
He then offered a compromise: If this land is causing you to sin, come on over to our side of Jordan. We will squeeze together and make room for you. Only don’t continue to rebel against God.

Then the leaders of the two eastern tribes answered. “You don’t understand. This altar is not for sacrifice to other Gods. This altar is to remind our children of the God that we all serve. We built it to be a witness between your people and our people, that we serve the same God. The altar is not for the purpose of rebelling against the Lord, but as a witness to the power of God.

When the delegation from Shiloh returned home with the news, everyone was relieved. “The report pleased the Israelites and the Israelites blessed God and no longer talked of war.” The altar on the eastern side of the Jordan was called Witness.

Did you detect any of the five principles in this story?

Questions For Reflection:

1. Do any of the principles connect with your experience?
• Have you seen one of the principles acted out in real life?
• Can you think of a circumstance in which thinking about the principle could be useful?
2. Sometimes conflicts cannot be resolved because one or more parties won’t communicate and won’t cooperate.
• How should we respond as Christians to this circumstance in our work place
• How should we respond as Christians to this circumstance in our Christian community?