| NOVEMBER 5, 2024 -- But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:17-18
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Matthew 5:9
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:13-14
A peacemaker is a person who brings about peace, especially by reconciling adversaries. The term “adversaries” is very broad, in that there are so many possibilities of who or what adversaries may be. They range from countries, to rival political viewpoints to differences among the members of an organization, to members of your own family to, finally, personal internal conflicts.
An ancient Chinese proverb, sometimes ascribed to Confucius, states:
“If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations.
When there is order in the nations, there will peace in the world.”
Maybe it wasn’t Confucius, perhaps it was the Buddha, but one can do worse than spending a great deal of time pondering this proverb. To me the first thought is that if you do not find yourself at peace with yourself, how can you try to bring peace among others? To quote the Dalai Lama: “World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.”
I am not qualified to try to make peace on a national or international level, but I can certainly try to work locally for the cause.
After we make peace with ourselves then we are prepared to make peace among the members of our family. By “family” I mean not only our relatives but also our larger family, which means the members of our church, our social group, and our near neighbors. Again we turn to scripture, which advises us: “Do nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with humility consider others superior to you, as you look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others.” [Paul’s letter to the Church at Phillipi.]
And also: “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely even if anyone has a cause for complaint against another.” Colossians 3
If all of us try this, perhaps it will lead to peace at a larger level.
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