Just for Youth...
Making Peace
What should you do when friends are at each other's throats?
by Ken Treybig
Meagan and Julia had been best friends. Now they wouldn't even speak to each other. After Ben spent time talking to Meagan, Julia was furious. Hadn't she made it clear to Meagan that she liked Ben? Every time Julia saw Meagan walking her direction, Julia would turn away and get busy with something else—making sure their eyes never met.
One time Meagan happened to see Julia first and realized their paths might cross. Then she saw Julia notice her and turn away and so knew she was being slighted by her former best friend. Now she was even more hurt and started watching for ways that she could slight or avoid Julia. Before long it was a full-scale war of wits. Was this friendship permanently on the rocks? Was there no way to save the relationship from the junk heap?
What would you do if you were one of these girls? Or what if you were friends with one or both of them and you were now caught in the middle? How could you avoid being a casualty on the battlefield of their personal war? Is there anything you could do to help defuse the situation and get them to be friends again?
Probably everyone reading this article has found himself or herself in some variation of this scenario at one time or another. How can such a sticky situation be resolved?
There is a short answer and a long answer to these questions. The short answer is that not every situation will be resolved in a positive way. Sometimes a person just will not be reconciled to someone he or she views as an enemy. However, many situations like this can be turned around. If we value our friends, it would certainly be worthwhile to make every effort to restore the friendship. In fact, according to God, we have an obligation to see if we can make peace.
Commanded to reconcile
From the very beginning, God showed His desire for human beings to have friends. When Adam was all alone in the world as the only human alive, God said, "It isn't good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs" (Genesis 2:18, Living Bible). God's intent is for human beings to have companions and friends. Of course, the friend and companion God made for Adam was Eve, who became his wife.
Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn48/makingpeace.htm
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Table of Contents that includes "Just for Youth: Making Peace"
Other Articles by Ken Treybig
Making peace:
- _When 'The Great Game' Is Over
- _A Short History of Walls
- _Red, Blue and God
- _Searching for a Mideast Peace
- _Win-Win: Who Says There Has to Be a Loser?
- _Are You Pulling Your Own Hair?
- _Real Peace Is More Than the Absence of War
- _Go Ahead, Rock the Boat
- _How Can We Find the Pathway to Peace?
- _Peace Kant Be Found
- _A Short History of Walls
- _Just for Youth - Keep a Close Friend Close
- _How to Say No (Without Losing Your Friends)
- _Rise Above Peer Pressure
- _Just for Youth... It Does Matter Who Your Friends Are
- _It Does Matter Who Your Friends Are
- _Why Can't We Just Get Along?
- _You Have a Friend in God
- _You Can Pick Your Friends
- _A Moving Experience
- _What Would Jesus Do? Lessons in Friendship
- _Friends for Excellence
- _That's What Friends Do
- _Reflections on Loneliness
- _Circle of Friends
- _Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones
- _A Friend: "The Masterpiece of Nature"
- _How to Say No (Without Losing Your Friends)
- _The Importance of Right Friendships
- _How the Bible Helps Cement Broken Relationships
- _To Date, or Not to Date?
- _The Right One
- _The Lost Art of R.S.V.P.
- _The Hole in Your Heart
- _What's It Worth to You?
- _Your Greatest Asset
- _Questions and Answers - Apr/Jun 2002
- _Treating People (Including the Opposite Sex) With Respect
- _Ending a Friendship
- _Listening--A Lost Art?
- _Saying Good-bye to Our Family's Barn
- _The Worst Disease of Our Time
- _What Are They Thinking of Me?
- _Male-Female Relationships
- _Faith and Faithfulness: Fundamental to Relationships and Responsibilities
- _Getting to Know Guys
- _Who Are You?
- _How the Bible Helps Cement Broken Relationships
- _When Friends Disagree
- _World News and Trends - September/October 2006
- _Without Friends
- _Calming the Waters
- _A Model Friendship
- _The Friendship Formula
- _Friends Don't Let Friends...
- _Can You Hear Me Now?
- _The Loneliness Trap
- _Friendship Gone Wrong
- _Choosing Your Friends
- _Friendship Quiz
- _You Raise Me Up, Because You Are Your Brother's Keeper
- _First Impressions: They Count
- _10 Things You Can Say to Make Someone's Day
- _A Friendship Manual
- _When a Friend Is Hurting: How You Can Help
- _When a Friend Lets You Down
- _Getting to Know Girls
- _Confronting Loneliness
- _A Word NOT Spoken
- _World News and Trends - September/October 2006
- _Turning Swords Into Plowshares: Starting Now
- _The Wheat Doesn't Know Hate
- _Forgiving the Unforgivable
- _War's Long Memory
- _The Church of God Today
- _Destination and Course Correction: Planned From the Outset
- _Forgiveness of Sin
- _Sin and God's Law
- _The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
- _Repentance
- _Other Important Ways Jesus Fulfilled the Law
- _The 'Curse of the Law'
- _Grace and Law: Why Are They Inseparable?
- _The High Priest Essential to Salvation
- _How Does Justification Relate to Salvation?
- _What Was 'Wiped Out' by Jesus Christ's Death?
- _A High Priest Eager to Help Us
- _Gifts from God: The Foundation of His Relationship with Us
- _Is Our Conscience Important?
- _God's Grace and Forgiveness
- _Why Must We Be Reconciled to God?
- _What is Repentance?
- _Did You Sin Today?
- _Three Strikes and You're Out - or Are You?
- _If I Knew Then What I Know Now
- _What Is Repentance?
- _What Does the Bible Teach About Fasting?
- _What Does It Mean to Have Freedom in Christ?
- _Reconciliation: A Vital Part of Christ's Message
- _Forgive, and You Shall Be Forgiven
- _Seven Reasons Why Jesus Was Born
- _The Transforming Power of Forgiveness
- _Questions and Answers - Sep/Oct 2003
- _How Do Your Recover From a Costly Mistake?
- _Repentance: A Profound Turnaround!
- _Repentance, Penance and Grace
- _What's the Answer to a Better Life?
- _How Do You Recover From a Costly Mistake?
- _Forgiving Your Parents
- _"Sometimes You Have to Break the Rules"?
- _Thoughts From Dad
- _Do You Remember When?
- _Loving Your Enemies
- _Discover the Power of Forgiveness
- _Can God Forgive Me?
- _Religion With and Without Mercy
- _Forgive
- _What if We Sin After Conversion?
- _God's Forgiveness: What Does He Require From You?
- _A Lesson in Prayer
- _Playing the Enemy
- _Forgiving My Brother
- _The Wheat Doesn't Know Hate
Key Subjects Index
General Topics Index
Biblical References Index
Good News Magazine Index
Booklets and All Literature Index
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