I was reminded again last night just how fragile relationships are. I am always amazed at the speed with which something can be said or done that brings hurt to untold numbers of people or how quickly things can get blown so out of proportion when things are not dealt with quickly and directly.
One of the primary tactics of the Enemy is confusion. If Satan can breed confusion within a church or within a group of people, he can absolutely unravel any good thing that has been built among the group. I think what kills me about that is how easily we are sucked in. It’s as if we know what happens, we understand that as a tactic and can often even recognize when it’s happening, but still allow ourselves to be used to rip relationships apart.
Yes, this is something that is fresh on my mind, but I have seen so much of this over and over and over. There comes a time when we just have to say, “STOP! Enough already.” We must get to the point where relationships are valuable enough that we’re willing to take the risk; we’re willing to actually approach someone, face to face, and ask if something is wrong. We have to care enough to confront. I’m saying this as much for me as anyone. Confrontation is never fun and rarely easy. There is pain involved. However, it is so much easier to address it while it is a relatively small and petty issue than after it has been allowed to fester and grow and spread.
My encouragement is for us to simply deal with it. Go ahead and put yourself out there. Care enough to confront. Seek peace while it may be found (which is not just the absence of conflict). Don’t give the Enemy an opportunity for establishing a stronghold in your life and become a tool of division, strife and pain. In the end it is simply not worth it.
