Christian Stress Management: May 2010

From the conflict in John 8:2-11 in which the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman caught committing adultery to Jesus, we can learn from Him how to deal with the complexities that may be inherent in a conflict so as to reduce the time spent resolving conflicts.

The first complexity was being a Mediating Conflictor and the second was a resolving a conflict with tightly lipped conflictor. These have been discussed in Part 1 of this series.

The third complexity was the uneven balance of power while the fourth was the poor positioning of the parties. These have been clarified in Part 2 of this series.

The fifth complexity was the inappropriate place and the sixth inopportune timing. These have been discussed in Part 3 of this series.

The seventh complexity in this conflict was mob psychology. The Pharisees and scribes came as a group and joined the gathering that was being taught by Jesus thereby creating an even larger crowd. When resolving or mediating a conflict involving a mob, learn from Jesus and do not let their physical presence pressurize you.

Try to make the same independent decision you would have made if there was only one Pharisee and one woman standing in front of you. To do so, you have to withdraw mentally from the mob’s pandemonium for after the Pharisees had presented their case, Jesus stooped down to write on the ground and He may have done this to create mental space between Him and them.

The eighth complexity was attempted intellectual intimidation. The Pharisees and scribes who were the interpreters and teachers of the Law of Moses, quoted this Law to Him and asked for His opinion. They interposed a “But” between their interpretation and asking for His thereby suggesting that He would have a different one. To paraphrase them, they said, “We, the learned Law of Moses Specialists, submit that this woman should be stoned according to the Law of Moses. But what do you, a carpenter’s Son have to say?”

Therefore emulate Jesus and do not be intimidated by specialists if you have a decent grasp of the subject even if they quote specialized texts in an attempt to coerce you to submissively accept their suggestions. If you do not understand any aspects of the issues at hand, seek clarification or hire an independent neutral consultant help you.

Conflcit Resolution part 1

Conflict Resolution part 2

Conflict Resolution part 3

Conflict Resolution part 4

From the conflict in John 8:2-11 in which the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman caught committing adultery to Jesus, we can learn from Him how to deal with the complexities that may be inherent in a conflict so as to reduce the time spent resolving conflicts.

The first complexity was being a Mediating Conflictor and the second one was resolving a conflict with tight-lipped conflictor. These have been discussed in Part 1 of this series.

The third complexity was the uneven balance of power while the fourth was the poor positioning of the parties. These have been discussed in Part 2 of this series.

The fifth complexity in this conflict was the inappropriate place. The Pharisees and scribes dragged the woman arrested in adultery to the Temple. This was a public place and people had already gathered to listen to Jesus’ teaching. It, therefore, lacked the privacy to solve any conflict let alone a personal one.

Therefore when choosing a venue to resolve or mediate your conflicts, choose a private place and preferably one not owned by any of the conflicting parties for the Temple was also the Pharisee's turf. If you are unable to influence the choice of venue, make the best use of where you are just like Jesus.

The sixth complexity in this conflict was the inopportune timing. Jesus was already teaching when the Pharisees suddenly appeared with the woman. It does not seem that they had notified Him in advance that they would bring a conflict for Him to resolve at that particular time.

Therefore if you find yourself suddenly entangled in a serious conflict, take time off from your tight schedule and resolve it at once. Jesus stopped teaching and begun resolving the conflict even though it may have inconvenienced His day’s teaching program.

So focus your attention on the grave conflict at hand and take as much time as you need to ensure a satisfactory conclusion. Do not dash through it even if it is another party which has the most at stake for in His case, it was the woman who was facing the grave and not Jesus.

Conflcit Resolution part 1