Follow After Peace
/Are we peace seekers or peace destroyers? As a national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - a mighty man of God - who sought equality for all God’s children is approaching, a story about the power of peace, love, and harmony stirs in my heart.
Dr. King’s vision became reality as he kept marching on with hope in his heart and peaceful pleas for equality in his words and actions. His dream that all God’s children could live together with peace and equality from sea to shining sea showed His powerful faith and willingness to die for the cause He believed was right in God’s sight. As we honor the man who stood tall and carried a big message filled with God’s Word and Jesus’ way... let us follow the lead and let our lights for peace shine ‘for such a time as this’ when peace and harmony in our land is on the decline.
Across America, cries of corruption ring loud and clear: ‘having things our own way in everything, feeling entitled, forgetting God as our first love and foundation of our country, corruption in government beyond anything we thought we’d ever see, raging tempers, anger, animosity, quarreling, lawlessness, disrespect beyond belief, cries for continuous ‘giving, giving, giving, with an ‘all about me’ learned way of living. What can be done to restore peace and harmony in the land we love and call ‘home sweet home’?
In Romans 12:16, Paul pondered the same concerns and sought God’s help for answers.
“Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to (people, things) and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.”
In other words, we can learn to be adaptable and adjustable even when all things seem to be out of control and we aren’t getting our way. Paul wasn’t saying there aren’t things we need to resist or to change, but also didn’t mean we are just to sit on the fence (passively) and let the world and devil run all over us. Minor things that steal our peace can be handled if we would pray continuously, calm down, and stop having fits every time things go wrong! We should heed the ‘put it in perspective’ message Paul pounded in prideful peoples’ hearts ...you have an inflated opinion of yourselves and feel entitled to have things your way!
Paul listed things in Ephesians 4:31 that caused trouble in his (and our) lifetime! His list included resentment, anger, brawling, clamor, contention, resentment, and bad tempers. He taught how those negative ways of living have a root cause called ‘pride and self-centeredness. To put it in Paul’s perspective: these ugly ways of living arise because we want what we want when we want it. In other words, we get mad when things don’t go as we believe they should. Anger stirs up angry words and lawless actions, and people end up getting hurt!
In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-5 we are taught that love is not self-centered. “Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is not conceited, prideful, rude, and does not act unbecomingly. Love does not insist in it’s own rights or its own way…”
If we really want God’s anointing and help, we must live together in peace and harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Now is the time to rise up in Christian love and follow after peace.
The solution to problems of lawlessness, lack of respect, honor for God and country, arguing, prideful living is LOVE! When we can learn to live by the messages from God’s Word and Dr. King’s dream , we can learn to love peace and harmony. Then, things we deal with will not be all about you and me...but about others and THEE!
In 2022, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with ... you and me!
