Stay Sweet Amid Bitter Conflicts

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT’S the ideal thing to do whenever we find ourselves in some difficult conflicts, especially in the area of politics. Let’s not make things worse by following the urges of the flesh, the ways of the world, and much less, the game of the devil. If water is what extinguishes fire, it is also sweetness that can overcome bitterness.

By not only staying calm but also choosing to be sweet with the parties involved, always showing affection and respect for the others, we facilitate the resolution of any conflict we have with them, we can even learn something from the differences we can have with them.

There will always be some wonderful changes that will take place in all the parties involved. There will be some polishing and refining of all the views and position at play. Most of all, we can remain brothers and sisters, friends and lovers of each other, keeping intact the charity that should always rule our life.

We have to remind ourselves that when we find ourselves in some conflicts with others, we should see to it that we avoid going through it by our lonesome. That would make these occasions of bitter conflicts a useless and purely negative event.

Truth is our conflicts with others can have tremendous meaning and positive effect on us if we go through them always with Christ. If we go by our Christian faith, we are sure that Christ is ever willing to suffer the bitterness for us and with us, and to convert that bitterness into the very means of our salvation, in fact.

There is no human bitterness that Christ is not willing to make also as his own. And he does it because he loves us, he wants to save us, he wants to bring us back to him. Let’s remember that his love is first of all gratuitous. He loves us first before we can learn to love him in return.

Christ loves us even if, according to our human standards, we do not deserve to be loved. Let’s never forget that because of this love, he, being God, emptied himself to become man, and still went further by assuming all our sins by going through his passion and death on the cross and by his resurrection.

We should therefore lose the fear of bitterness when we find ourselves in conflict with others, and learn how to convert it into a means and occasion to gain a greater good for all of us. If we believe in Christ and follow what he has taught and shown us, we will realize that there is nothing to be afraid of bitter conflicts, and all the other negative things that can mark our life.

So, we just have to be sport and cool when we find ourselves in some bitter conflicts with others. In fact, the ideal attitude would be to welcome these occasions of bitter conflicts, since in the first place, it cannot be avoided no matter how much we try. We have to cultivate a more positive outlook toward it and relish its inherent benefits for us.

For this, we need to discover and appreciate the link between the suffering caused by these bitter conflicts and loving. The two need not go against each other. In fact, they have to go together if we want our suffering to be meaningful and fruitful. And we have a way to do that. Go through them with Christ in his passion, death, and his resurrection!

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com