These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And so they finished dividing the land. – Joshua 19:51

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 23, 2012): Joshua 19

I continue to be frustrated by sports lock outs (the current one is in the NHL.) If you are willing to listen (and I am increasingly unwilling to make the effort) I know that you can understand the point of view of both parties. But there has to be a balancing point somewhere. But in this case, the balancing point may be somewhere that neither party wants to go. It might be that the in a world where increasing profits seems to be the main emphasis, hockey has found itself in a place where downsizing is the only answer – fewer teams and fewer players, and less money for all parties. Put new arena plans on hold and lessen the investment and risk that is required from team owners – therefore they do not require the profit that they would seem to need in the current situation. It seems counter-intuitive, but if you cannot divide what you have and you cannot get more, then maybe the only alternative is to reverse the process and start to rebuild the sport (in some ways it is like hitting the reset button.)

Israel found herself in a position where they had a pie that needed to be divided up. And maybe the one positive that they had was the sense that they were dividing the land in the presence of God. That presence was probably signified by the presence of Eleazar the priest. Eleazar and the rest of the priests had no horse in the race; they were not receiving any of the land. The result was the ability to recognize all needs of the people involved. While the biblical record sounds like this might have been a smooth process, it was unlikely that it was in practice (and we know from Joshua’s own comments that he glosses over a lot of things that happened during this time period.) But the end result was that the land was divided – and there was even a concession from those that had too much to those that needed more.

Part of the essential nature of negotiation is the willingness to give away. But as the rhetoric increases that becomes harder and harder. As long as the focus is on me or taking away from the other, then finding that point of fairness as unlikely. But often that requires someone who has no stake in the argument.

But as long as our focus is only on what we want, there are a lot of good things in life that will remain forever outside our experience. Compromise is essential to life. And, in the end, it is worth the effort to get there.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 20