Conflict–friend or foe?
Most of us think of conflict as a bad thing–and in many cases, that’s certainly true. Conflict can create pain, bitterness, and anger when it crops up in our personal relationships. But is conflict always bad? When conflict occurs within the Christian community, is it always a sign of pettiness and spiritual immaturity?
As with many things, the topic of conflict becomes much more nuanced when we stop to look at how the Bible handles it. An article by Gary Oliver at the Back to the Bible site thoroughly examines the issue of conflict as it’s portrayed in the Bible, and suggests that true unity can exist even within families and churches that are marked by the occasional clash of ideas.
