Blessed are
the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
It seems as if everyone wants
peace. In our Post-Modern thinking, we should have peace with everyone being
able to do what they want, when they want, with whom they want, where they want
and how they want (as long as no one gets hurt.) Then the very people who claim
that ideal hear that a Conservative thinker is going to speak on campus, or
Ivanka Trump is going to visit, or someone doesn’t agree to the whims of all of
the approved minority groups, and any thought of peace goes out the window. It
becomes all about resistance and retribution. Their words are meaningless.
Their deeds express the truth of the matter. There can be no peace if everyone
involved is not on the same page. There can be no peace if there is division.
They aren’t alone. Even our toddlers and our pets understand this. Grace is as
sweet as can be if you’re doing what she wants, but try to type when she wants
to be petted, or when she wants to go out and there is no peace. Dad thinks
it’s comfortable at 80 to 85. I want it between 70 and 75.
There’s peace when two people agree, but how often does that happen in real life? More often, one of the two doesn’t care equally about a matter. We give the other person her way. Sometimes we don’t really care as much as she does. Sometimes, the relationship is more important than the question. Whatever the reason, we seek peace by joining the other person on their page or by playing by their rules. We come together with that person, and whether we realize it or not, at least in that thing, we submit to that person.
This is the essence of peace, coming together and submission. Peace doesn’t tend to be about being fair. When I was growing up, my neighbor babysat me. She had two stools at a bar. One spun easily. The other didn’t. My neighbor’s daughter and I both preferred the one that spun easily. My neighbor set the rule that if Darlene sat in the spinning chair one day, I got to the next. That’s not the way life is. We don’t keep a scoreboard with each person we know. “You got to make the decision last time. It’s my turn.”
In real life, there tends to be a dominant personality or ego. Peacemakers are not the people who go along to get along. They aren’t welcome mats on which others tread. They are the ones who look for ways for everyone to be on the same page. They broker the deals that bring people or groups together. The goal isn’t to be “fair” but to put people in a position to have a healthy relationship with the other party.
There’s peace when two people agree, but how often does that happen in real life? More often, one of the two doesn’t care equally about a matter. We give the other person her way. Sometimes we don’t really care as much as she does. Sometimes, the relationship is more important than the question. Whatever the reason, we seek peace by joining the other person on their page or by playing by their rules. We come together with that person, and whether we realize it or not, at least in that thing, we submit to that person.
This is the essence of peace, coming together and submission. Peace doesn’t tend to be about being fair. When I was growing up, my neighbor babysat me. She had two stools at a bar. One spun easily. The other didn’t. My neighbor’s daughter and I both preferred the one that spun easily. My neighbor set the rule that if Darlene sat in the spinning chair one day, I got to the next. That’s not the way life is. We don’t keep a scoreboard with each person we know. “You got to make the decision last time. It’s my turn.”
In real life, there tends to be a dominant personality or ego. Peacemakers are not the people who go along to get along. They aren’t welcome mats on which others tread. They are the ones who look for ways for everyone to be on the same page. They broker the deals that bring people or groups together. The goal isn’t to be “fair” but to put people in a position to have a healthy relationship with the other party.
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