Networking Kills: Success Through ServingSample

Serving Erases Conflict 

As an attorney, I sometimes find myself in tough negotiations with some pretty arrogant attorneys who cause our dealings to turn heated and personal. Some of them from New York and Beverly Hills tower over me with wealth, intellect and recognition, so it’s easy to get intimidated.

God has taught me over the years to respond by serving, not by throwing more heat on the fire or by putting on the boxing gloves. First, I need to see the other attorney through God’s eyes and heart. Maybe he is facing enormous pressures in his marriage. Maybe the pressures of law firm life are causing him to spin out of control. Maybe he doesn’t know Christ so his eternal destiny and hope for the future is nonexistent. God wants me to respond to them with compassion and genuine interest. God wants me to invest time praying for their marriages, their businesses and their salvation, especially when they have no idea I’m doing so. With care, humility and prayer, intimidation evaporates. Then, when my heart changes toward them, their heart changes toward me, and the log jam is almost always removed—immediately. It’s amazing. Walls crumble!

When your work is done with care, compassion, humility and prayer, conflict is eliminated. 

Reflection

In the past, how have you responded in social or business situations to someone who ignores, intimidates, or demeans you? If you chose to put on your “boxing gloves” or add “fuel to the fire” in that situation, what was the impact on your antagonist, your relationship with them, and your heart? What could you have done differently to serve your foe in order to see them become a friend?