The Garrison Keiler story posted a couple of days ago really got me thinking about something that I have been processing for the past few weeks.

Is CONFLICT THE DOOR TO INTIMACY? Are those times in which we come face to face with another person with whom we disagree ripe times of growth? Are there certain situations in life whereby we grow closer to another person?

Recent marriage research indicates that couples who argue a lot have just as much chance of staying together as those who never argue. The theory goes that the by arguing, we open ourselves up to another person. This opening up creates transparency which is the first step to building trust in any relationship.

I am not saying that we should pick fights.

I am not saying that we should go out of our way to argue.

What I am saying is that when we are in a situation where someone has wronged or disagreed with us, there is real opportunity for us to grow. We should therefore not avoid conflict in our lives. Not at all, we should quickly move to bring these areas to a head in order to grow personally and corporately.