Middle East/North Africa (MNN) — It’s no secret that life on earth is full of conflict, in both public and private spheres. That’s not because of the modern day we live in: it’s been a fact for all but the first few days of human history.
“Most probably, either you are now in a conflict, or entering a conflict, or leaving a conflict, or part of a conflict that you are trying to solve,” says Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center.
On whatever level that a conflict exists, it carries consequences.
Souq Waqif, Al Souq Street, Doha, Qatar (Stock photo courtesy of Kenny via Unsplash)
Wars put people’s futures on hold, disrupting and even ending lives. On a much smaller scale, unresolved interpersonal conflict can also destroy.
Sharaiha says feelings of bitterness and resentment can develop with unresolved conflicts. “Those feelings are really the best micro-environment for sin and for falling apart and falling away from the Lord,” he says.
“Whenever you have a conflict, we need to address it. We need to look at it. We need to look at it the same way that the Lord shows us to do, which is basically confrontation in a loving, graceful way.”
In the Middle East, says Sharaiha, people don’t like to confront each other. (This is also true of other regions and cultures in the world.) But the unity of the Church and its full energy devoted to gospel ministry are at stake.
Jesus understood and addressed the realities of conflict Himself.
“Remember in Matthew 18, when the Lord was teaching about ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him or her his fault between you and him alone.’ This is beautiful. I mean, this is really the whole concept of how to resolve the conflict,” says Sharaiha.
He continues quoting verse 15: “‘If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.’ Wow, so basically it’s about gain.”
Recently, the MENA Leadership Center trained nearly 30 leaders from around 10 countries in biblical conflict-resolution skills for ministry.
“We need to be kingdom-minded, and we need to work around conflicts, because conflict will happen anyway. The question is, how are you dealing with those conflicts? Are you really working around them or not?” says Sharaiha. “There is such a blessing, beautiful blessing, whenever a conflict is resolved. The Lord said, ‘You will gain your brother.’ What else do we need?”
(Stock photo courtesy of A. C. via Unsplash)
Find your place in the story through prayer. Pray with these Christian leaders and the MENA Leadership Center for unity in the capital-C Church in the Middle East.
Pray for peace, grace, and discernment as believers navigate tough wartime realities.
“Third, please pray for the broken families and for the Christian leaders who are going through conflicts, whether their own homes, within the ministry, or within the country,” says Sharaiha.
Learn more about the MENA Leadership Center and its mission to equip leaders here.
Header image is a stock photo courtesy of Markus Spiske via Unsplash.
