Paul's Brief Remarks To Euodia And Syntyche

The second principle is: Conflict is an inevitable part of life, but we determine our response. Trying to avoid all conflict is useless. Disagreement is inevitable because we live in a fallen world. People disagree with each other for many reasons. Conflict may result from different opinions, a personality clash, miscommunication, or jealousy. It can arise from misplaced frustration. A person may be angry with someone – or even God, but they project it on someone else. Other arguments occur because people rebel against authority and certain conflicts have their roots in the emotional baggage from a person’s childhood or previous relationships. Conflict cannot be avoided, but we can respond correctly to conflict. Paul says to Euodia and Syntyche

Step 1: Take every conflict seriously. When Paul heard of the conflict in the Philippian church he immediately took the initiative. In conflict, timing is everything. Paul was expecting to be released from prison, but he did not wait until his release to deal with the conflict. He immediately wrote a letter. He also decided to send Timothy to Philippi to help with the situation. Paul did not minimize or negate the problem. He did not spiritualize a passive or slow reaction. Paul did not separate himself from the situation on an emotional or a verbal level. Paul did not take sides in this conflict, but exercised impartiality. The uses of the term “plead” before each name communicates a desire to be

These women had strived alongside Paul in their efforts to spread the gospel. Paul sets the women on an equal level with others whom the Philippian church knew as faithful servants of the gospel. When Paul thinks of those who have served faithfully with him in the past, Euodia and Syntyche come immediately to his mind. Furthermore, Paul says that God had written their names in the book of life alongside all others to whom he promised eternal life. Why does Paul describe Euodia’s and Syntyche’s past? Why does he talk about the names that are written in the book of life? The answer is this: He wants them to realize what is at stake in this conflict. In essence, he was saying, “Our names are written in the heavenly book of life. We must embrace an eternal perspective during our temporal battles. We are called by God to share the Good News, which should be our only aspiration. We need to wisely maintain a good testimony so that we do not hinder the advancement of the gospel.” Paul was distinguishing the primary and secondary issues. When we realize what is at stake in a specific conflict, our perception may change, resulting in a resolution to the conflict. When a group of believers holds fast to the same core values, appealing to these values in a time of conflict is usually sufficient to bring about resolution. Our values provide us with a sense of direction and our commitment