Two Women and
a Whole Church

Devotional

When Conflict Becomes the Story

Two women in Philippi had a disagreement, and it made it into the Bible permanently.

That’s worth sitting with for a moment. Euodia and Syntyche are known to history for exactly one thing. They couldn’t get along, and their names have been read aloud in churches for two thousand years because of it. No one remembers what the disagreement was about, which is usually how these things age.

Notice how carefully Paul handles it. He pleads with each of them by name, using the same verb twice so that neither one can read the sentence as taking the other’s side. He doesn’t assign fault, he doesn’t describe the issue, and he doesn’t tell them who was right. He simply asks them to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Then he says something that should reshape how we view people we’re in conflict with. These women have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, and their names are in the book of life. Paul refuses to let the disagreement become their identity. They’re coworkers who are stuck, not enemies who need defeating.

That’s remarkably hard to do in practice. When a conflict goes on long enough, we start editing our memory of the person until the difficult version is the only one left, and we forget that they served faithfully, showed up for us once, or loved Jesus before we ever met them.

Look also at verse 3, because Paul does something we usually avoid. He asks a third person to help. He doesn’t tell the church to stay out of it and let the two of them work it out privately, which is what our culture would advise. He assumes the body has a role in helping two members get unstuck.

So here’s the honest application. If a conflict in your life has outlasted your ability to solve it alone, that isn’t a sign to bury it. It’s a sign to ask for help.