The story of Abraham and Lot is an early example of conflict resolution. Nowadays, conflict resolution is a very specialized form of diplomatic negotiations, requiring many skills. Abraham had many reasons to claim the better land and leave Lot with the poorer land: he was the ancestor of the chosen people; he was the elder of the group of people concerned; Lot was his nephew. In a secularized world, a man with so much seniority and authority would find it very difficult to be so generous to the younger one. Abraham, however showed great generosity in dealing with the conflict: although he could have chosen the better land for himself, he allowed Lot to make the first choice: "Is not the whole land at your disposal?" Abraham's generosity was rewarded by God, who spoke to him and promised him all the land he could see.

Abraham is serenely confident in himself: he feels no need to argue or bargain with Lot. More importantly, his serenity comes from his relationship with God, for he answered God's call to leave his country and his father's house and received the promise of becoming a great nation.

Many disputes can be solved with serenity and generosity