In ethics we sometimes speak of a "conflict of duties." This means that one has an ethical obligation to do two or more mutually exclusive things. It is imbedded in most of the current problems that ethics is confronted with, whether it is the ethics of trade or war or politics. For example, there are two shipwrecked persons but there is only one piece of wreckage large enough to rescue one of them.

Often a Christian is faced with more than one viable option when having to make an important decision. But sometimes the decision involves a dilemma, wherein choosing the one thing might mean you are sinning by neglecting the other. This article discusses this matter, which is often called a clash of obligations. It considers whether God would command conflicting things. It goes on to show that it is not possible to obey a command of God and at the same time run afoul of the great commandment of love.