Some of us have taken tests that reveal our conflict management style. It can be a helpful experience. Some of us respond to conflict by striking back with full force. If someone is against us, we decide that we are against them also. Rather than being punching bags, we decide to fight back. On the other hand, some of us respond to conflict by trying to keep peace at any cost. We will avoid, over-apologize, and keep silent if it will help the conflict to go away. As you read this, you can probably identify which extreme to which you lean.
Our conflict management styles can play themselves out in the way that we respond as Christians to the culture around us. Some of us experience the opposition of the world against Jesus (and his people), and we fight back. We start organizations and launch protests to protect our rights from the powers that be. Others of us retreat so that we won’t have to deal with the unpleasant aspects of the world that cause conflict and difficulty. We pull back from any level of engagement and just try to stay pure until either we die or Jesus returns.
Often we think that “fight” and “flight” are the only options Christians have to respond to the world around us. In this passage, Jesus gives us a completely different way to engage. He calls us to something that has much greater difficulty for us, and much greater impact for others.
Dan Franklin
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