day no. 14,673: for the love of peace, fight!

One weekend up in Des Moines visiting Paige's parents, the kids were playing in the basement. They were playing until they were fighting. Inevitably somebody wanted to play with something someone else was playing with and the traditional matter of ownership and authority manifested itself in fisticuffs.

In addressing the incident, I appealed to the Bible's emphasis on peacemaking.

Romans 12:18

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

You cannot force people to live at peace with you by being peaceful, but you must begin there. This principle was answered by a frustrated child who said, "How am I supposed to grow up to fight and protect people AND be a peacemaker!"

Great question. And the Bible addresses this as well:

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Living peaceably with people requires you first to fight the temptation to fight about lesser things. Being peaceable means fighting your desire to insist upon your rights at every turn. Being peaceable means not looking to pick fights, but to love peace.

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - G.K. Chesterton

Peacemakers are so ferociously committed to being peaceable, that they are willing to endure all kinds of difficulties that could have been avoided by flexing. But peacemakers are also so courageously committed to living in peace, that they are willing to fight and stop those committed to making trouble. Peacemakers don't make trouble, they diffuse it. They do so first and foremost by controlling themselves and choosing what to let go of, but secondly they engage oncoming troublemakers when peace itself is at stake.

Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

James 3:18
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

There are things worth fighting about. Peace is worth fighting for and peace in a fallen world is only produced by the faithful who are willing to fight over the things worth fighting for, willing to let go of things that aren't worth fighting over and the wisdom and discernment and faith in Christ to know the difference and live in light of it.

1 Timothy 6:11-12

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

The end goal must be peace. The man of God must love peace and be willing to fight the world, the flesh and the devil inside and out in order to secure it.