Conflicts Are Caused By Differences; Jesus Brings Us Peaceful Commonality

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (31) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (32) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (Ephesians 4:30-32)

We see lots of conflict in the world today; the riots in France, war (again) in the Middle East along several fronts, the stagnant conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the political in-fighting that grows deeper here in the United States.  There also appears to be greater conflicts between individuals, with assaults, acts of violence, and murder between strangers passing on sidewalks, neighbors across the street, and even between family members in the same house.

Jesus foretold us these things would increasingly occur as we get closer to the End Times (Luke 12:53, Matthew 24:7), and though we cannot say when the End Times will be upon us, we know we’re one day closer today than what we were yesterday.  Much of this conflict comes from hatred resulting from our differences; we do not like that which is not what we consider to be ‘normal’.

Normal for me is different than normal for you; I get up between seven and eight o’clock each morning, while others may be ‘early birds’ who are up with the roosters at ‘oh-dark-thirty’, or those who ‘sleep through their morning nap’ and arise around noon.  I get up and take vitamins, with a banana and bottle of water infused with Vitamin C powder.  Others have to have their cup or two of black coffee, and still others may have a ‘foo-foo’ mocha espresso/cappuccino barista beverage with some avocado toast.  These may not be differences that cause any strife between us, but they represent our different ‘normals’.

We sometimes form cliques or groups when we match our ‘normals’ with others who have similar habits or traits.  These can break down into smaller groups or subsets.  The Israelites were common people that were much alike in what they shared, both genetically and in customs.  They were organized into smaller groups, or tribes, by the tie-in to a common son of Jacob (Simeon, Dan, Issachar, Judah, etc.) and within their tribe broken down further by ‘clans’, or families based on the sons of those sons, and then broken down by the family unit of husband, wife, and children. 

Israelites had general commonality, worshipping Jehovah (God), escaping Egypt, and traveling together to enter the Promised Land.  The tribes had greater commonality, being more closely related and, after their entry and conquest of Canaan, settled into their specific areas given or assigned to them.  Clans were then, within the tribal lands, given specific areas to call their own, and they shared their clans’ customs and traditions together. 

This arrangement is similar to what we see in the United States today; though not of family ties we often identify by our regional birthplace (New England, Midwest, Southern, Texas/Southwest), our home state (Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania), and the county or section of that state we were born and raised in (for me, the ‘Yinzer’ region of Pittsburgh, or more generally Western PA).

For many of us, we’ve moved around and we begin to identify more with where we are today; for me its southwest Florida as we’ve been here for almost forty years, far longer than growing up in western Pennsylvania.  Beyond regions, we identify based on our ethnicity, politics, our work background, and our religious affiliations.  I am a white (or Caucasian) Christian conservative US military veteran who worked as a government/military IT contractor, as an example.

The problems begin when the differences in our identities begin to conflict and contrast with others.  Some is good-natured rubbing, such as who we root for when our home college teams play against each other.  But the real troubles begin when these conflicting identities and traits contrast to the point of where hatred begins to seep in between the relationship.  This unfortunately happens between the lines of ethnicity, perceived social status, religion, and politics.  Many of the conflicts we see today have some basis in these differences.

Some of these differences are out of our control.  I had no choice in the matter that I was born white and in western Pennsylvania, and my social status is what others perceive (I think I’m an average blue-collar bubba), for example.  I had in some degree of control over joining the US Army, and moving to Florida, and my conservatism developed over time through environment, education, and interaction with others.  My Faith in Christ is something I believe came from realizing the Truth of the Gospel message and wasn’t as much of a choice as it was a calling.

Jesus understood these differences would come into play, and that conflicts would rise up due to these differences.  He taught that the Jew (those of Israel) and the Gentile (those not of Israel), while different, could be reconciled through having Faith in Him.  While we are often much different in our identities and characteristics, Jesus taught us of the Two Greatest Commandments, of Love Your God and Love Your Neighbors (all others around you) as Yourself, and Paul further provides details of this in Ephesians 4:30-32.

Adhering to Loving God means we must adhere to Loving Each Other, negating the focus on our differences while maximizing the focus on Him and our commonalities through Him.  Our differences may bring us into having friction, but our obedience to the Holy Spirit should lubricate the points where the friction occurs and having us focus on our shared love of Christ.

When we encounter those without Salvation, the Holy Spirit should allow us to respectfully interact with the non-believer, attempt to share the Word of Christ with them, and plant the seed of Faith in them.  Should this fail to resolve the conflict on their side, this should also allow us to disengage respectfully and peacefully, and move onward.  It should be a call to pray for them, and continue to show them love in spite of their hatred.

While it is true we may have to defend ourselves and our loved ones in a forceful, physical manner, we do so only as the last resort and we do it in anticipation that we will forgive our enemies when the action ends.  Not everyone will accept Jesus as Lord, but this does not mean that we give up sharing the Gospel to those who we perceive have hatred against us.  We may dislike or disapprove of others, but we must continue to love them through our prayers and our actions, as Jesus showed us during His earthly ministry.