"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. - Matthew 18.15-17
There are few things that do more damage to the body of Christ than interpersonal conflicts. If these are not handled properly the results can be disastrous. Testimonies can be ruined, churches can split, bitterness can develop, lawsuits may ensue, and more. Sadly, not even Christians are exempt from physical violence.
Like everything else God has a plan. If we follow it we are going to solve a lot of our problems. We don’t need to go back over it because it is very clear in the passage.
Our problem is not knowing it, but doing it. Why don’t we do it? The excuses are many. We don’t like confrontation. We fear rejection. We remember the mote/plank illustration on judging others. We don’t feel worthy to approach someone. They might get angry. Someone’s feeling might be hurt.
For all the ‘good excuses’ the instruction is still there.
God tells us how to avoid trouble. Do we trust Him enough to obey Him?
1 comment:
There was a conflict between my sister and a man in our church. My sister took these steps per scripture to no avail. Finally, when the interim pastor and the chairman of the deacons were pulled into the problem, neither one of them had the courage to take action. They wanted to ignore the problem so that it would just go away. So though my sister boldly took the steps she was supposed to take, she had no support from the very ones who should have supported her. I'm enjoying your posts! I just found them tonight!
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