I’m just kidding.
Kind of. : )
It can be a helpful tip for some conflict situations!
If a friend talks with you about something that is Philippians 4:8 worthy of thinking and if they approach it James 3:17-18 well, then responding well is easy. Being cared for and loved towards Christ is a joy of a journey, and to travel that road with a friend who desires to honor the Lord with you is truly the marrow of life.
It is a blessing indeed.
But sometimes we get confronted in ways that aren’t so much a blessing. And sometimes we get confronted in ways that make that last sentence an insane understatement!
What do we do then?
Throw pies! Godly ones, I mean…
Pray ~ Even if just a short little prayer, connect. Connect with the one who knows what it is like to be called out inappropriately, called unfair things, ridiculed, or handled in ways not consistent with His worth to the King. Connect with your Savior and Protector.
Interrupt ~ This may rub against the grain of mannered people. I totally get that. It may seem counterintuitive to a peaceful environment and relationship. It may feel rude or arrogant. I can understand how that could be. Yet I am totally convinced this is the godly thing to do. I’ll explain why as I unpack all four of these in following posts.
Explain briefly ~ Sometimes we are taught to simply remove ourselves from the situation, yet this can have unintended detrimental effects. I believe there is an important balance between two tensions: simply leaving the situation or ending the friendship or relationship, and trying to convince or persuade. Often in the middle is a brief explanation that is valuable for both you and your confronter. We’ll dive more into this in following posts.
Step ~ What is a possible next step? Allowing grace for those who may be trying their best, what would it look like to re-engage healthily about this? This can be hard to think of on the fly, so we’ll provide a few examples to have in your toolkit in an upcoming post.
Hopefully when you’re stunned, hurt, and feeling almost unable to speak, you can envision throwing pies in their face! That will lighten the mood a bit – which usually jostles the mind into action a bit better. Hopefully it’ll bring a twinge of a smile and action steps to mind that will help you feel equipped, confident in the Lord, and ready to take on relationships for His glory!
photo credit: Frank Wojciechowski
