Bodes. Fracas. Conflict | Part 8

Bonjour mes amis! Today we resume our study on conflict resolution, with notes from the book ‘If Ye Bite and Devour One Another’ by Alexander Strauch.  If you haven’t read Parts 1 through 7 then I suggest you do so for continuity, then dive in to this installment.

LEGGO!

Chapter 8: Pursue Peace

One of the most striking lessons I gathered from this Chapter is that Peace is something to be pursued ACTIVELY. It is not a passive process. Matthew 5:9 says “Blessed are the peaceMAKERS”. Not the peach watchers or the peace hopers or the peace observers or the peace wait it out and see what happens-ers. MAKERS! MAKE IT! DWEET! Romans 12:18 says to DO ALL that YOU CAN to live in peace with everyone in the NLT. ACTIVE MEHN! DO! ALL! PUT FORTH THE EFFORT! Romans 14:19 says to aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. 1 Peter 3:11 says to SEEK peace and PURSUE IT! But the Word isn’t telling us that this peace is something we can achieve on our own. Colossians 3:15 says that peace comes from Christ and as members of His body, we ought to live in peace.

Words from the Word

 

Peacemaking is a key element of living within the family of God. It’s not just something left up to a select few to dissolve or mediate squabbles between members. Nah bruh. It’s on all of us to use the tools given in the word to live in peace with each other. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 illustrates a poor example of handling disputes within the fold. The members were seeking worldly counsel and would rather be right, than be at peace with each other. They were even going as far as having their matters tried in court, rather than solve matters internally. Paul had to hit them with the swift clapback in 1 Corinthians 6. (See Part 2 of my series on 1 Corinthians for the sauce). It’s dangerous to let secular ideals take precedence over the Word. We have guidelines but we ignore them in favour of what speaks to our fleshly desire to win all the time.

Conflict is uncomfortable, unless you’re one of the people who revels in that, in which case this post may seem like a load of doo doo ca ca to you. As Christians we are called to Act in the Spirit, one of the fruits thereof is PEACE. We have to step outside ourselves in order to resolve conflict peacefully. Peacemaking may not mean getting our own way and it requires study, prayer and WORK. Paul charges the believers in Phillipians 4:3 to be diligent to preserve unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.

Remember our first few lessons? Peace is one of the fruits of acting in the Spirit. Acting in Love enables us to suffer loss or be in an uncomfortable situation for the sake of another person. Acting in Humility is the only way we can maintain peace, even when we feel like we’ve been wronged. We should also take not that the Truth trumps all. It doesn’t do any good to be united by wrong, but what is right and true should always be more coveted. Just because a majority goes with the bad/wrong thing doesn’t mean peace is achieved. Don’t settle for a majority of wrong “in the name of peace”. The truth may be uncomfortable, but is it better than being united by a lie.

My main takeaway: ACTIVELY PURSUE peace.

Thanks for reading as always yall. I pray whoever finds these words is directed to The Word and isnt just taking my words for it.

 

Verse of the day: “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” – James 3:18 ESV