Keep the Peace

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. Mathew 5:9

I am the youngest of five. My role in our family was often the role of peacekeeper. My brother and sister who are just older than I am laugh about it now. Growing up, they fought all the time. I couldn’t stand it. I always tried to get them to stop fighting and make up. It would upset me when they fought. Steve is able to ignore it when Nathan and Sophie fuss, but it drives me nuts!
I crave peace. I don’t like confrontations, and I don’t like fighting. I know some people who love to stir up trouble and only seem to be happy when they are. To me that’s so sad. It’s also against what the word of God teaches. Proverbs 6: 15-19 says that the Lord detests “a person who sows discord among brethren.” Other translations read “a person who stirs up conflict in a community or family.”
On the other hand, Psalm 34:14 says “Turn from evil and do good: seek peace and pursue it.” It is not enough just to want peace. There are two action verbs in this verse: seek and pursue. This leaves the ball in our court. We are to strive for peace. What does that look like? Don’t initiate an argument with accusations or fault finding. We should be careful with words and actions so that we don’t cause strife and anger. When we do have an argument with someone, be the first to apologize. Always be willing to talk things out. If the strife is between people you love, don't’ take sides. Use wisdom and help them find a peaceful way to resolve the conflict. If you can’t or shouldn’t get involved, (again use wisdom) pray for them. We should also ask God regularly to check our hearts and confess any sin. This will help us have inner peace as well.
Sometimes peace with a certain person may not be easy to accomplish. We can’t control the actions of another person. God knows that too. Romans 12:18 says “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” See God knows that we are going to encounter difficult people. He does not expect us to change them. That is His job. He does expect us to do our best to live at peace. That doesn’t mean that we are to sweep things under the rug or ignore sin. It means that we are to act and speak with wisdom and in love so that peace remains present in our hearts and in our relationships.
We all want peace...don't we? Be an instrument of peace. Pursue it!