How does conflict affect our relationship with God?

Colossians 3:13 (ESV)

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

When someone messes with your best friend, it’s hard for you to like that person, isn’t it? That’s the way God is with us—His kids. You can’t be right with God if you’re hurting one of His kids.

Your relationships with people and your relationship with God are directly connected. Basically, before making things right with God, we need to make things right with others.

In the Old Testament, people connected with God by offering gifts at the altar. People would travel for days to present their offering. By time they got there, they were likely exhausted.

With that context in mind, Jesus said in Matthew 5 that if you’re offering a gift at the altar and remember someone has something against you, you should go and fix that relationship first.

Did you catch that? Even if they had been traveling for days, they still had to go back and resolve conflict with the person that had something against them, which would have made their entire journey a waste of time.

That might seem a bit extreme, but Jesus wasn’t playing around. He knew something that we often forget: You can’t be right with God if you’re wrong with others.

Now we know what a big deal conflict is to God. Tomorrow we will take a look at what healthy, God-honoring conflict looks like.

Dear Lord, show us today those that we have conflict with and need to resolve it. Help us to get things right so we can be right with You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.