135. Jesus and Conflict: The Eucharist
Jesus teaches us to know the non-negotiable areas in our lives and to evaluate if the so-called non-negotiable areas are worthy of being considered such.
134. Jesus and Conflict: The Prodigal Son
Love and mercy should not undermine justice if we want lasting peace.
133. Jesus and Conflict: The unofficial disciple casting out devil
Understanding that God can use anyone is important in avoiding or managing conflicts. Our jealousy, envy or anger will not take away a God-given gift to a person or make it ours.
132. Jesus and Conflict: James and John and the seats beside Jesus
Familiarity breeding contempt is a fact of life that cannot be wished or prayed away
131. Jesus and Conflict: The dispute among the disciples on who is the greatest
Jesus ensured his response did not attempt to favour a party in place of the other by creating a win-win situation.
130. Jesus and Conflict: The woman caught in adultery
If Jesus had consented that the woman should be stoned to death, it would have conflicted with his teaching on love, mercy, and forgiveness, and he would have lost his reputation as a friend of sinners.
129. Jesus and Conflict: Payment of Temple Tax
Jesus showed us another way of avoiding conflict with the ignorant – hold onto your knowledge and play along with them.
128. Jesus and Conflict: Payment of Tax to Caesar
Often, ignorance or poor understanding of the law causes conflict because the implementation of a law by an authority could be misjudged as victimisation, and another party’s interpretation of a law could be misconstrued as discrimination.
127. Jesus and conflict: The tension between Martha and Mary
If Jesus had condemned Martha, it would have meant that Jesus loved Mary more. With Martha being the elder sister, it might not have augured well between the two sisters.
126. Jesus and Conflict: The two brothers
Since Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world and he was not officially part of the rabbinical institutions, he was not competent to judge in the rabbinical courts.