"Peace on Earth"

I’ve been learning a lot lately about the importance of peace-making; it’s a dirty, thankless job that I’d rather leave to others. If only the Bible wasn’t stuffed with instructions for us to be agents of peace. Like this one, courtesy of Paul: “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” That’s from Romans 12:18. I looked it up in four different translations, but it says the same thing in all of them: do everything you can to live in peace with all people. Yikes. “Everything I can” sounds like a lot. That sounds like I might have to work at it, or give something up, or suffer. Yech.

I had some practice with this recently after a meeting where someone was out of sorts and hurt feelings got slung around, and it was my responsibility (as a church staff member!) to intervene. Generally, my instinct is to squish people who are wrong, since I’m not a sweet and merciful person. (I’ve had this conversation with friends about what superpower we’d each like to have, and they often pick something like being able to fly or having x-ray vision … if I had a superpower, it would be to shoot conviction out of my eyeballs at people, to make them sorry for the wrong they have done, to make them repent. Yeah, I know, that’s a little scary. So, anyway…)

This is an email I exchanged with a friend after that meeting:

“It’s hard to demonstrate love and service toward those who are disrespectful of us and others, and I have done exactly what you did during the meeting! I am a big one for rolling my eyes! It is so hard for me to instead think of how I can serve that person, but I am slowly learning. I always want to strike them down with the truth and make them shape up, but God is teaching me that truth never appears without its bosom buddies, love and humility. Clearly God is coaching me on how to speak in love, humility and truth. It’s like it says in Proverbs 24:26 -- “An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.” How often do I give a brutally honest answer that no one would mistake for friendship or a kiss? More like a sucker punch! But I’m learning that my honesty must be like a kiss, the way I would kiss a beloved friend.”

Sometimes I surprise myself. Despite my tendency for brutal honesty, I’m learning that truth never shows up, biblically, without love and humility to keep it company. Jesus and Paul are great examples for us … truth in one hand, grace in the other. It’s a good start to living in peace.