Confrontation - Unavoidable!

The Confrontation Principle (John Maxwell's): Caring for people should precede confronting people. Conflict is hard…Conflict is like cancer: early detection increases the possibility of a healthy outcome. In order to connect with people we need to care for people before we confront people. In the second phrase of 1 Peter 2:17, it reads, “Love the brotherhood of believers.”

The illustration I have for this is Jesus himself. At a time when the world is literally spitting at Jesus, he had the power to vaporize them. They are mocking him and crucifying him, and Jesus could have called angels to rip their tongues out of their mouths he created and then had the nails shoved up their noses (now you know what I would have done!)….but what do we see Jesus say, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” Jesus was able to forgive because He cared for them and he was also confronting sin…

There will always be conflict when we connect with others. How we handle the conflict will define “who” we are in Christ Jesus. May we be bold and confront conflict with conviction and compassion. You know I love ya - Don