Can a person be wronged and then be in the wrong? Church conflict is an age old issue that will never go away until Jesus returns. The early church had to deal with it and I've never heard of a church that has not. The question is not if conflict will come, the question is how we deal with it when it does come. Part of the problem is that as believers are all at different levels in our spiritual maturity. We may all have different ideas and strategies on how to respond when we feel like we have been wronged, and it is a natural emotion for one to become defensive when this happens. What we do or say when we feel like we have been wronged certainly is a spiritual marker in our life.
Jesus was wronged and did nothing but ask the Father to forgive them. It is very hard for us to do this. However, instead of taking matters into our own hands when this happens, should we not see what the Bible tells us we should do? Matthew 18 deals with this beginning in verse 15. When we take matters into our own hands and do other things--such as spread our hurt to others--then we may find ourselves on the wrong side. Proverbs has a lot to say about those who stir up strife; in fact in Proverbs 6, God says He hates one who stirs up strife among the brothers. Scripture has much to say about reconciliation. One question we might ask ourselves? Is my reaction and/or response making a possible reconciliation harder or easier?
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