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RESOLVING COMPLEX CONFLICTS JUST LIKE JESUS CHRIST PART 2
by Miriam Kinai From the conflict in John 8:2-11 in which the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman caught committing adultery to Jesus, we can learn from Him how to deal with the complexities that may be inherent in a conflict so as to reduce the time spent resolving conflicts. The first complexity was being a Mediating Conflictor and the second was a resolving a conflict with tight lipped conflictor and these have been discussed in Part 1 of this article. The third complexity in this conflict was the uneven balance of power. The balance of human power was leaning strongly in favor of the Pharisees and scribes as they were influential men. Jesus also had some authority for a crowd had already gathered to listen to Him teaching. The woman on the other hand, had been rendered powerless and worthy only of death by virtue of her unvirtuous crime. If you find yourself embroiled in or mediating a conflict where there is an uneven balance of power, do not let yourself be manipulated either overtly or covertly by the parties that are stronger numerically, monetarily or politically. Be fair to all the parties just as Jesus was. The fourth complexity in this conflict was the poor positioning of the parties. Jesus was already teaching a crowd when the Pharisees and scribes (another crowd), came with the lone woman and placed her in their midst. This positioning was not appropriate for effective conflict resolution as she was in the middle of a mob baying for her blood. It would have been better if she had been told to stand on one side facing her accusers. If you are unable to influence the sitting (or standing arrangement) as Jesus may have been, do what you can to make all parties feel comfortable. You can bend down to a child's eye level for when Jesus stooped down to write on the ground, He could have assumed this position to get down to her level so that He would not be towering over her like the others. Dr Miriam Kinai loves interior decorating and has written many books such as African American Home Decor, Asian Home Decor and Christian Home Decor which are available at her blog http://www.modernhomedecorthemes.com/ and from http://www.amazon.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |