What Role Does Strife Play in Creating Stress?

Strife causes stress, whether a current experience or a future possibility. Strife can be defined as conflict, discord or dissension between individuals or isolated within your emotional self. Stress creates mental and physical tension, ranging from minor to severe, depending on each person’s perception of a situation.

One way to manage stress caused by strife is to negotiate a solution to whatever caused the conflict. 

Genesis 13 tells how Abraham initiated a settlement between himself and his nephew Lott. “Let us end the quarrel between us, for we are brothers. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right.”

Abraham offered a positive choice that could not be rejected. His faith in God was strong and mature, so he knew God would bless him for settling the dispute. This is a positive way to manage stress and reduce harmful strife. Believe right now that God will bless you abundantly for following the same method.  

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Abram said to Lott, “Let us not have fighting between us…After all, we’re family. Look around. Isn’t there plenty of land out there? Let’s separate. If you go left, I’ll go right; if you go right, I’ll go left.” 

~Genesis 13:8-9 The Message

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To Manage Conflict, Communicate Kindness

Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was not protected from the conflict he had to endure with his older brothers. This conflict was just a sample of what he would face as a young man far away from home in Egypt. Conflict invades everyone's life, so it’s not a matter of choosing whether conflict will be experienced, but how it will be managed.

By the end of adolescence most people have developed a system for coping with conflict regardless of how healthy each person may be. This does not imply that change and growth are out of the question. Personality type and temperament along with parental role models influence how conflict will be managed and consequently its success or failure.

Through respectful communication and compassionate understanding, conflict can bring people closer together. Genesis 13 illustrates how Abraham successfully negotiated an end to conflict with his nephew Lot by giving Lot two positive alternatives. God gives wisdom for resolving conflicts to those who earnestly seek it. 

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Then Abram said to Lot, “We are relatives, and your men and my men shouldn’t be quarreling. So let’s separate. You go one way, and I’ll go the other.”

~Genesis 13:8-9 Good News Bible

My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things that God wants done.

~James 1:19-20 Contemporary English Version