Conflicts of Personality II ...

Tuesday, September 13, 2011. We can approach conflicts in quite different ways. We see this every day in the news in either politics or in the business world.

Confrontation or Balancing? …

Some people have a confronting character. They approach the adversary in a direct way. They like to confront him or her. They try to score direct goals. They try to gain victory. They fight. They punch. They go and hit.

Other people are different. They try to balance the extremes. They try to bring people together. They reconcile. They are careful. They are defensive. They do not want to cause damage - not direct damage and no collateral damage.

We find both ways of dealing with conflicts in politics. Both ways can be found in the business world as well. Individuals can act in this or the other way. But also strategies of companies or political parties can be shaped by these different ideas about how a conflict can be solved.

God's Character …

How is God? How is Jesus? We can find both features in this character. We find examples for both ways in the bible. Jesus confronted the Pharisees strongly. He told them that they would be approaching a terrible fate due to their hypocrisy.

But Jesus could also be very balancing. He could solve conflicts with words of wisdom, with words full of wit. When he was confronted, he could either resolve the conflict or he could hit back with full might.

Jesus also made clear that his ultimate goal is full peace. And he does not search a peace where humans are destroyed, but where they can evolve their full potential in justice and truth. His fight had clear rules and was full of love and consideration, even when he confronted people, he was fighting for them, to reach them with God's mercy, with full warnings about a self-destructive behavior patterns. Confrontation and balancing had the same goal and was used as a tool when ever needed. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts