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IBS 39 - Matthew 18:15

Matthew 18:15
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

Conflict is something I try to stay away from, but for some reason, I’m really good at finding it. I can get upset with someone and stay upset for a long time over the dumbest things. I’m good at holding grudges and taking defense very quickly. That is not good. That causes more conflict. Matthew 18 here says to confront. I don’t like doing that. Confrontation is something I’ve always been bad at; whether it was to confront my brothers or friends or if it was someone confronting me. I always hated confronting people, I hardly ever did that, and when I did it was in a rude way, not Godly at all. If something would happen, I would stay upset and just let time solve the problem or yell at that person. Being confronting is always weird too. Having someone point out your faults and then talk about it is uncomfortable. In a way, confrontation is awkward, but in the end it’s so good. The resolution is freeing. Facing those issues head on, talking about them, solving them, and then putting them behind us is the way it should be done.  
Since being here, I’ve learned the goodness of confrontation. That it’s tough in the moment, but after is good. I’ve been able to start to see clearly and work on things I’ve never had to deal with. It’s been so hard, but having recognized those faults I’ve been able to work on them and start to become a better woman of God. 
Going to Costa Rica with Vanessa is going to make both of us become really good at confrontation. When an issue arises, I won’t be able to go to another person and talk about it, and then ignore the problem or I shouldn’t just flat out yell at her. With it just being the two of us, I’ll have to take confrontation with joy and an open mind and learn from it and I’ll have to learn to confront in a loving, Godly way. This is a verse I’ll have to make sure to remember. And not just for Costa Rica. Confrontation is a life long thing I’ll have to deal with. 


Application: I’ll write Matthew 18:15 on a piece of paper and try to make it look nice and keep it in my Bible as a reminder to confront in love and accept confrontation with love. 

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