Resolving Conflict With Reconciliation Not Resolution

When you have conflict in your life, focus on reconciliation, not resolution. There’s a big difference in those two words. Reconciliation means re-establishing the relationship. Resolution means resolving every issue.

Resolution probably isn’t going to happen, because you’re never going to agree on some things. Nobody on this planet agrees with you about everything, so you’re never going to have resolution on all your issues.

Can you have a loving relationship without agreeing on everything? Of course you can. If you learn to disagree without being disagreeable, that’s called wisdom. If you learn that you can have unity without uniformity, that’s called wisdom. If you learn to walk hand in hand without having to see eye to eye, that’s called wisdom.

You don’t have to agree on every issue to come to reconciliation. If you focus on the relationship and not the issues, you’re going to find that some of the issues you’re arguing over are just not that important. Some things just aren’t worth arguing about. You need to let it go!

One of the greatest things you can do with your life is be a bridge builder, not a wall builder.

It’s always more rewarding to resolve the conflict than to dissolve the relationship. It’s not easier, but it’s more rewarding.

– Rick Warren