In a culture where everybody is at each other’s throats, we need a breath of fresh air–fresh air of peace among people. And this fresh air needs to be more prevalent in Christians. All of this constant bickering isn’t getting us anywhere. This may be an election year — and tensions are high from racial issues and COVID — but that doesn’t mean we succumb to the divisive madness.
“If possible,” the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:18, “so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” As Christ followers, we have the responsibility of being a peaceful person. Needless arguments on social media shouldn’t start because we wanted to stir the political and/or theological pot.
God has commanded us to be peacemakers but that comes with a caveat. Peaceful Doesn’t Mean Cowardly. Occasionally, it’s our job to call another Christian’s behavior out.
Think of Jesus. He was the perfect model of a peaceful person. However, the Prince of Peace called the Pharisees white-washed tombs (Matthew 23:27) and flipped tables in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13).
In the church, in our homes, and in our communities, as Christ followers, we are commanded to be a peacemaker – not a peacekeeper. In our present time with everything happening before our eyes on the news and in social media, it is often difficult to breathe and wait for all the information. We are bombarded by everyone and their opinion that we often get trigger-happy and decide to post before we think. Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean never having interactions, it means knowing when to post and not to post. It means knowing the limits and knowing when to keep going. Sometimes it means having a discussion face to face.
I guess what it boils down to is us being conformed more to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28). Are we yielding to the Spirit or to the flesh? Don’t stoke the fire with your sarcastic whit. Live at peace with all people and strive, by the Spirit’s power, to be like Jesus in every situation.