Conflict and Phil.2:1-4

Conflict generally happens anytime you put two people together.  That’s just the way it is.  Conflict is a natural part of life…it is what makes life interesting!  Working together as a team to accomplish what God has called you to do pretty much guarantees conflict.  Conflict is not good or bad – it is neutral.  It is how we handle it that makes it feel good or bad. 

One way that conflict can grow on a team is when each person is more concerned about their own interests than in another person’s interests and so there is a completion of interests.  When I am determined that my way is done, or my suggestion taken or my idea considered, and when other people on the team are equally determined to have their ideas implemented is when conflict becomes ugly. 

The Philippian church was encountering conflict.  It must have not been anything major as the tone of Paul’s writing in the Letter to the Philippians indicates mild concern rather than serious correction.  He wanted to remind the Philippians of how to respond to the conflict between them in a manner glorifying to the Lord.  In fact he reminds them that Jesus is the supreme model for not allowing conflict to come in the way of our effectiveness in working together as a team.

In Phil.2:1-4 we see that the core of their conflict was probably the desire of the Philippians to protect the things that concerned them.  Paul appeals to the model of Jesus in Phil.2:1.  He wanted them to be devoted to seeking the good of others first.  He reminds them that they have no personal rights (the right to be considered first, the right to make all the decisions, the right to determine what the group will do, the right to be right…). 

Ultimately we are united by God’s mission – having the same commitment to unity and harmony as we work together in pursuing the mission of taking the gospel to the world (Phil.1:27).  Staying united in purpose is a choice, a daily choice.  We must choose to have the right attitude toward one another. 

Attitude is key!  Our attitude toward one another and toward ourselves is a main ingredient in how serious the conflict could become.

1-How unity is broken:

Unity is lost when we allow factions or divisions to arise (Phil.2:3).  The image behind the Greek word for factions is that of a political election:  when a politician runs for office, he tries to build a following for himself by building himself up and putting down his opponents.  We can easily do this as believers when we try to rally others to take our side when there is a disagreement. 

Another destroyer of unity is pride in self.  It is the inclination to make yourself look good and in turn make others look bad.  It is similar to the description above, but the difference is that the first killer of unity is when you try to influence others to support you and your idea or agenda.  Pride is when you assume that what you think is the best idea or that you alone know the best course to follow.

2-How to stay unified:

The way to maintain unity is through two of the hardest character traits to have:  humility and unselfishness.  This is why Paul reminds us of these traits of Jesus at the beginning and the end of this section.  Pride and putting others down comes naturally to us; humility and unselfishness are not natural to man nature.  Yet Paul calls us to humility and to be unselfish.  “Stop looking out for yourself; it doesn’t matter what you want, think, prefer.  What matters is our unity for the sake of the gospel.” 

Humility calls us to count others as better than ourselves – to be so interested in the welfare of others that you forget about thinking about yourself.  It’s the idea of loosing yourself in the service of others.  Consider how Jesus laid aside His right and made Himself lower than God for our sakes.

Unselfishness is when we don’t care who gets the credit or whose idea is chosen or who is asked to be in charge.  The fact that Jesus became a man who was unjustly condemned and crucified for our sakes is a reminder of how we should conduct ourselves toward others.  The problem is not that we think too lowly of others, it generally is that we think too highly of ourselves.   

Allow your ideas to take last place; look out for the interests of others and take no thought for your own interests.  Jesus was ultimately lifted up and glorified by the Father.  The beautiful thing is that if I am looking after the interests of my teammates, and if they are looking after the interests of others on the team, then I have a whole team of people looking after my interests – so I don’t need to be looking after my own interests at all – they are covered!

Response

1.       Self Reflection:  Each time you find yourself in a situation where there is conflict as you work together as a team, ask yourself:

·         Am I oriented toward myself or toward love of others?

·         Am I being selfish and conceited or am I responding with humility?

·         Am I putting the interests of others above my own?

2.       Confess your sin.

3.       Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit who will enable you to respond as Christ would respond.

4.       Defer to one another.  Don’t be about making sure you put yourself first.

In any group or team there will be disagreements (and there will be people who will refuse to pursue unity).  However, where there is the same love, there will be broad tolerance and mutual consideration.  Keep in mind the supreme example of God’s great love and unselfish consideration of others.  Seek to be like Jesus in your interactions with your teammates.

Next week:  Practical Tips on what to do when you experience conflict on your team.