This is such a peaceful scene for me, walking in the quiet woods, sun peaking in and out of the trees, refreshing coolness of the shade on a hot day. Close your eyes and picture what makes you feel peaceful. Then open your eyes and describe it to another person, or if no one is nearby, take out a piece of paper and write about it. Just taking the time to think about it and share it will help you experience the feeling of peace permeating your mind and body.
In Matthew 5 Jesus taught the crowd on the mountain along with His disciples what we now know as the Beatitudes which are part of the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are… Wouldn’t you like to be considered blessed? Absolutely! And we are blessed if we are His child. The Beatitudes give us eight different descriptive statements of how we are blessed and the results. I’m focusing today on verse 9:
“Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.”
Matthew 5:9, KJV
Peacemakers or peacekeepers??? Some people use these two words interchangeably but to a great degree, they are not synonyms. Both are nouns but seem more like active verbs. A peacemaker is one who is actively looking for ways of finding a peaceful solution to conflict, and in particular reconciling people to God and to one another. A peacekeeper is one who looks for ways of avoiding issues, smoothing over problems and conflicts, and keeping things quiet before they get to the point of conflict.
I came across a good definition of a peacekeeper that really sums up what a peacekeeper is:
“Peacekeepers relish developing positive relationships between people, and seeking harmony, compromise, and cooperation. They tend to be empathetic, agreeable, agile, and diplomatic.”
from https://principlesyou.com/archetypes/peacekeeper
Both peacemakers and peacekeepers are needed in the church and the world. Peacemakers are looking for ways to resolve issues that are already present. Peacekeepers are on the lookout for ways of diverting or avoiding issues that may cause problems. Both are tough jobs and over the years I’ve been in both situations. Sometimes it seems like there is no way to resolve some issues which makes the peacemaker’s job difficult. Then there are other times that no matter how much you try to divert attention away from or avoid an issue, it’s hard to keep peace.
Maintaining a positive attitude, working towards harmony, compromise, and cooperation, and being agreeable and diplomatic as stated in the above quote are definitely a great start to being a peacekeeper and will go a long way in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere, whether it’s home, church, work, or anywhere else in the world.
When you have children, parents learn to be peacekeepers along the way. Even in a marriage, one spouse learns ways of being a peacekeeper when things get tense and tempers flare. Being a peacekeeper puts you on the hot seat, so to speak, and while it makes you a hero to one person, it’s not always as pleasant with the other person. Finding ways to resolve issues are not always easy for the peacemaker either. While one party might be satisfied, another may accuse you of showing favoritism.
“For God is not a God of disorder
but of peace,
as in all the meetings
of God’s holy people.”
I Corinthians 14:33, NLT
God wants us to have order in our lives and the peace that goes along with it. That is the job of both a peacemaker and a peacekeeper—to constantly be striving towards a peaceful resolution of conflict as well as an ongoing peaceful environment.
What does a peaceful living or working environment look like to you? Do you have it now? Could you help to achieve it? We all need peace in our lives and in the world. Unrest in other parts of the world does affect us no matter where we live. PRAY for peace. True eternal peace is yet to come, but is promised to us when we belong to Him.