Conflict Resolution

Oh pre-teens and teenagers. You remember that time? So many emotions, hormones, etc... I've come to realize that 12 and 14 are the same no matter where you're at in the world and I won't lie, sometimes I wonder why on earth God ever called me to youth ministry. Seriously over the past month, I've had to counsel more students than I really care to think about. I'm glad I've had the opportunity, but it definitely puts things in perspective. One thing I can't believe is that until Jethro gave his counsel to Moses, Moses had the entire Israelite community coming to him with their inter-personal problems. I have enough trouble dealing with about 20 students, let alone millions of people...anyways... Dealing with these students got me thinking that what they're dealing with isn't confined to the youth population.

Throughout Scripture we're given guidance about how to deal with people, especially those we don't necessarily "mesh" with. Verses like, "love your enemies", "don't let the sun go down on your anger", "in your anger do not sin", "do unto others what you want them to do to you", etc... You don't even want to know how many times I've referenced those verses, and the thing is that we all still struggle with these things. It may not be in the confines of a school or petty disagreements over a bucket (that's been one of the issues I've had to deal with), but we do get into rifts over "he said/she said", not getting invited to something, or someone talking to us in ways that we don't approve of. The bottom line is that no matter where it is be it the office, our home, school, or even at church, we are all called to live blameless lives, and no matter what is said to us, done to us, or said about us, we still are called to live a holy life. Jesus had terrible things done and said to him, as well as people spreading all sorts of gossip about him, yet, "he opened not his mouth". How? I mean, Jesus had his beard plucked out, was spit upon, lied about and yet He died a sinless man. Yet, we have someone who takes our parking spot or steals our amazing idea, and we can't seem to bring ourselves to avoid falling into sin over such an issue.

I'm not preaching about this, but merely reflecting on what I've had to learn personally in hopes that it may help me to grasp the lesson, and if possible help some of you deal with whatever situations you're dealing with. I'll finish this post with the verse that I think holds some of the best counsel in bite-size form. Some of us have grown up singing the song, and it's definitely something we shouldn't forget, so if the song helps you to remember it, then go for it.

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32