In preparation for our new study for our men's group I was reading from Erwin McManus's Uprising book, and--perhaps because I was a part of a teenager lawn maintenance enterprise--I enjoyed this little parable...
"We were probably no more than fourteen years old when my brother, Alex, and our next-door neighbor, and I began our first company, the Roadrunner Lawn Mowing Company. While other kids were getting two, three, or maybe five dollars a lawn, we were a high-end landscaping enterprise. We would hardly even consider a job if it wasn't in double figures... We had held all of our profit to be divided at the end of the summer. Even while buying some of equipment of our own, we were left with several hundred dollars to divide among the three of us.
"Everything was working out smoothly until the last penny. There was one copper cent left to be divided among the three of us. It wasn't that big of a deal until our third partner demanded the penny. He insisted that the last penny was rightfully his. Honestly that penny didn't matter at all to Alex or me--until that moment. Then that penny took on immeasurable value. With almost psychic communication, Alex and I looked at each other and then immediately explained to our disgruntled partner that since we owned two-thirds of the company, that penny would remain in our possession. Our former partner left angrily for his home next door."
When Erwin and his brother told their mother about the conflict, rather than allow this division over a penny, she demanded reconciliation. What would be the "right" answer to this conflict (if any) and why?
