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Saturday, March 5, 2011

A Work in Progress Through Conflict

On February 13, I was thinking about conflict.

Why are there problems and heartbreak in life?

What can I learn from experiencing conflict?

It occurred to me that through conflict, change will happen.
Only by identifying that there is a problem can a solution be found.
Only through experiencing hurt can healing happen.

Change occurs through conflict.

When life is speeding along, happy-go-lucky, there is no change. No need for change. Yet when a problem (read: speed bump in life happens) life slows down and my attention is focused on looking for a solution.

It's a realization that a change needs to happen.

I've joked for years that "Change...is good." There was a time in my life when I was surrounded by people who were being buried alive in conflict and some were in positions of authority to make changes.

Sometimes I adapted well to change...sometimes I struggled with change.

Many times I wanted to have a vote whether the change was a good solution to the conflict.

I realized that my frustration would boil over when others made changes that affected me, but I had no say in the matter.

Then my sarcasm gene would explode and I'd say, "Change...is good." (Read: Not!)

1 Corinthians 10:23-24 says, "Everything is permissable --but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissable but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

I accept change more easily when I can determine it is beneficial and constructive not just for the one person in authority...but beneficial and constructive for the group as a whole.

I know you can't make all of the people happy/satisfied all of the time.

But after a situation arises, I try not to react in a thoughtless, knee-jerk, half-cocked way.

I.Need.To.Stop.

Think the conflict through, surround myself with wise people (not "yes" people).

And pray.

Pray hard. Because if I'm listening with my heart, God will provide His wisdom.

Because when I work through conflict, I learn from it and grow stronger in my faith.

Then I can take action in a calm manner which will lead to a beneficial/constructive solution.

I am working on this in my professional and personal life.

I am a work in progress.

How do you see conflict at work in your life? Is it beneficial?

1 comment:

  1. Ooooh, I'm going to be honest and say that I HATE conflict. And, even when I shouldn't, I avoid it like the plague. But I do know that conflict often comes before (needed) change. It's hard not to fight it, though...

    ReplyDelete

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