One leading cause of wars among nations is a lack of trust. The Cold War was largely fueled by mutual suspicion among the then two world powers. One was never sure of what the other had up its sleeves. Some other wars are due to lack of willingness to hold necessary conversations. As it is among nations, so is it in interpersonal relationships. I remember reading a quote that was quite apt: “Before you hold a grudge, hold a conversation. It may be a result of a misunderstanding.” If this simple advice is employed, a lot of issues that snowballed into major crises could be avoided.

Some other wars are due to lack of willingness to hold necessary conversations…Jesus was in favour of conversation. He left us with an established protocol for resolving conflicts among brethren.

Certainly, Jesus was in favour of conversation. He left us with an established protocol for resolving conflicts among brethren. He was never of the impression that because we are brethren it would be a smooth sail in our relationships all the time. In our text, an aggrieved person is to approach the offender to tell him his fault privately. It could happen that the people we want to hold grudge against never realised that they have done anything wrong. Bringing the matter up provides an opportunity for remediation. Reading further, we are taught to go the extra mile. Should the offender become incorrigible, then he must be addressed in the company of another brother. It is only if that fails as well that the matter is to be reported to the church. If we follow these recommended steps, there will be no crisis hangover among God’s people.