Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) 
1 Kings 1:5-6 

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As a hobbyist photographer, I have been blessed with the ability to travel and capture breathtaking landscapes and delightful wildlife. Occasionally while road-tripping alone in the United States or flying out of the country to meet a tour group on location, I have encountered difficult people. 

Once during a workshop, we participants were lined up on a beach, waiting for the full moon to position itself right between two peaks. Since it was a very cloudy night, we couldn’t see the moon quite yet, but I knew I was too far right in the lineup of tripods to catch a glimpse if it did appear. Behind us were unstable rocks on a completely dark hillside, forcing me to walk in front of my fellow photographers if I was going to get to a new position. Before crossing in front of everyone, I politely asked, “Is it okay if I move up the beach quickly?” The first man replied gruffly, “No, I’m recording.” Despite the moon not even being visible I didn’t push back and just stayed put.  When the moon finally appeared I had missed the shot. 

At home, I processed the encounter with my adult daughter. I was mostly mad at myself for being cowardly. I vowed to handle similar situations differently. I wrestled with the old-fashioned saying, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus spoke the truth.  Jesus corrected in love. I should have quietly talked to this man and given him the opportunity to see that people are the priority, and maybe he would have taken a second opportunity to do the right thing. 

We all fall on different sides of this conflict equation.  Some folks are similar to me and avoid conflict at all costs. However, the lack of confrontation is often driven by peacekeeping, not peace-making, and inequity is allowed to continue. 

Other people are quick to anger and regret the harsh words that can be spoken without thinking first. I suppose we all need to take a breath in those heated conversations and process what Jesus might say or do in these verbal exchanges. Jesus was all about leading people closer to God and while we don’t come from a position of ultimate wisdom and sinlessness as Jesus does, we can move in that direction. When we lean toward one of the extremes—conflict avoidant or hastily entering into conflict—we often miss the chance to give others a second chance to do the right thing—including ourselves. 

Next Steps

How do you typically respond to conflict? Can you recall a time when your response may have prevented a second chance for someone or yourself? Take the time to write the situation down and then pray, asking God to reveal how you could have handled it differently and to give you wisdom to do so in the future. 

_{Photo taken by today’s devotional writer.}