“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18
When I read this verse many many years ago it was a slap in the face. How is it up to me to keep the peace when someone else is absolutely wrong and everyone knows it! The scriptures aren’t wrong and in the end the truth always comes out. Is this a tough lesson to learn, you are to live at peace with others that make you crazy because God says you should. This isn’t something new; people have been making other people crazy way before now. Paul speaks of it in Philippians chapter 4 where he is trying to get two women to “agree in the Lord” then he urges the saved of the congregation to also help him. Who knows why these two women were at odds with each other it could’ve been the color of the carpet to put in the new sanctuary or the color the walls should be, regardless they and we should do our best to keep the peace. If we are squabbling and new people come in saved or unsaved we have lost out on a great opportunity to serve others. And we hurt our own people at the same time. In the end, nothing gets accomplished and huge walls are built instead of the intimacy of friendship.
This passage doesn’t say we have to be best friends with everyone but it does say as much as it depends on us to live at peace. Sometimes all we can do is pray and keep out of that other persons way for a time. As we pray this allows God’s will to be done. And as we pray for the healing of the relationship, we are also to be quiet about it to others so they don’t get involved. Another thing we do is play it over and over in our heads of what was said and what we could’ve said different and if we have other altercations what we will say then. This is also not helping the situation to get any better because we are feeding on the ugly and not looking to the positive. It’s real easy to be ugly when we feel hurt, mistreated, unappreciated or even overlooked. Ultimately we need to keep our eyes on the LORD and not look to the humans around us that have a tendency to let us down. God is always there and will never leave us nor forsake us. Not to mention he hears every word uttered even those we think, he can fix things much better if we give him the time and the opportunity. If there is a relationship that is at odds right now in your life or it’s a crazy sticky sometimes ugly situation please ask God to heal it and bring the unity through peace once again. We are to be the peacemakers! God bless…
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