Are you a peacemaker?
There is no doubt conflict and division are the default settings for human nature, and that goes for Christians, too. Yet we are called to another way—a way of peace.
The Apostle Paul writes that as much as it lies within us, we should try to be at peace with all people. This means having a positive and constructive relationship with others, relationships that produce mutual respect and happiness. Paul is talking about relationships with people in general, not just fellow Christians.
This is not easy, you say. You’re right. Even when we look into our very own congregational and denominational mirrors, it doesn’t take long to find discord and conflict, even if simmering under the surface. In the case of the church at Corinth, conflict was present, members in dispute even resorted to taking one another to court (1 Corinthians 6:6-7)! Paul uses strong words to condemn such behaviour among Christians.
Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean we should always avoid conflict. There is a difference between wanting peace and making peace.
Instead, Christians should always strive to live at peace, with Christians and non-Christians alike. Conflict is easy, but making peace, however, takes effort and often involves a sacrifice of the immediate gratification of our emotional state. So what does making peace look like? It might mean yielding in an argument (even if you know you’re right). It might take forgiving another as Christ has forgiven you. It’s knowing someone’s name is safe in your mouth. It’s holding your emotions in a meeting and numbing the annoyance you feel for that person across the table. It’s not imposing on others your frame of reference and perspective when you know it will cause conflict. It is making room for others and showing warmth, consideration, and awareness. Remember peace begets peace.
God has called us to live a good life that will inspire others to do the same. In loving our neighbour as ourselves, we lay a foundation of peace in our relationship with them. Sometimes, however, it doesn’t work that way, and we are forced into conflict. Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean we should always avoid conflict. There is a difference between wanting peace and making peace. When, for example, people think they do right in refusing to handle a difficult situation or refuse to enter into a conflict they ought not ignore, they close their eyes to the problem because they believe that if they did otherwise then they would no longer be exercising peace. This is a misunderstanding of what Jesus tells us. We should both love peace and make peace. But making peace sometimes comes from solving a conflict, not by ignoring it. If we do not make the effort to solve a conflict, then the problem will grow until it becomes unsolvable. The road to peace must sometimes mean you go through conflict.
But our motive for entering into conflict must be that of love for neighbour and not out of lust for revenge or because of self-righteousness. By love, we mean the Greek word agape—God’s love. Agape can be defined as having genuine concern for other people and doing what is best for them in the long run. This kind of love is essential in creating peace in your relationships. The Jewish rabbis looked upon the word shalom as being the highest ideal, that of a person being able to create right relationships between people. To make peace, with God’s help, is to create relationships of trust, openness, and concern for one another. These kinds of relationships will lead to greater personal happiness.
In modern English, the Greek word translated “blessed” means “happy”. When we modernise this important verse from the Sermon on the Mount, it becomes: “Happy are those able to create right relationships, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
