Conflict; It Doesn't Have to be a Dirty Word

When two people are just alike, one of you is not needed.

Conflict doesn't have to be bad in relationships.  Conflict can make relationships better when used properly!  Have you ever stopped to think about it?

Remember this?  "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17  So what does it mean?  How does iron sharpen iron?  Well, let's see...hmmm, when you need to sharpen a blade you can rub another blade together over it and, if done properly, the edges become sharper, making the knives more efficient in their task to cut-and-slice.  This is not exactly a "gentle" process; rubbing steel-on-steel to sharpen, but it is effective!

Think about this, when a blacksmith is forging iron, what does he do?  He uses heat and pressure.  Then also uses a rather LARGE hammer and begins to strike blows on the metal to reshape iron.  Sounds like another "soft" process - um, NOT!

To begin, a blacksmith will first have to heat up the piece of iron that he needs to modify in a fire.  He does this until the metal becomes a yellowish-orange color and then, when almost red he removes it and lays it on a cold, hard piece of steal (usually an anvil). He then takes his iron hammer and starts to BEAT the hot metal, modifying it's shape and remolding it to it's desired shape and size flipping it back and forth and striking it repeatedly.  He has to work quickly as the metal is cooling and it won't bend properly when cold, in fact, it could break.  If he doesn't finish his modifications, he has to heat the metal back up and resume the pounding.  He continues to do this process of heating, hammering, shaping and molding again and again until he has finished his desired work.  Finally he places the finished piece in water to cool it down to touch.

Heat and pressure is the process that works to sharpen the iron; heat and pressure.  Lovely!

Sometimes relationship have "heat and pressure".  This CAN be a good thing IF we handle it properly.  Remember at the beginning here when I stated that we are not alike? This is a good thing!  You have picked your spouse most likely because of how they are different from you.  Embrace this!  Don't look at things like "I'm right" and "your wrong" but rather "what do you see that I don't"!  You still may be on different sides of an issue but the end result will be better for all as you can "come together" in agreement!

We need this so much in this hour; in our marriages, in our homes, in our churches, in our schools, in our communities, in our government and in our country!  Conflict doesn't HAVE to be a bad thing when handled properly. It's not about WHO is right but WHAT is right!  Let's be committed to WORK it out - not BAIL out!