Praise, Peace and Goodwill

This holiday season I had high hopes for a slow, peaceful pace. I was going to be like Mary and treasure up all these sweet moments. The picture of peace, wisdom, and good cheer. The last month has seemed to be anything but that. At one point I had three very important things happening in three different states…I ended up at none of them because of a family emergency.

I have lived enough life and have enough friends that are mental health professionals to know that the holiday celebrations often become a time of exceptional stress. Holiday tables become tables of debate, celebrations become minefields of passive aggressive comments, and the time off from work is spent frantically going from place to place.

 Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Peace.

I am naturally a peacekeeper. I know how to keep the peace with the best of them. I look down, politely smile, avoid the moody family member. The more I behave in this socially acceptable way the more I am rewarded with smiles, invitations, and conversation.

However, these habits do not create atmospheres of peace. Very much the opposite. These things create atmosphere of tension and shallow forms of relationship.

In Matthew 5:9, Jesus calls God’s children “Peace MAKERS.” This is an important distinction. The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom.” A deeper understanding of shalom is to, “Destroy the authority that establishes chaos (Clay Clinesmith).” MAKING peace does not happen by polite smiles and avoiding difficult topics. MAKING peace means destroying the chaos of the enemy.

 Just a few days before Christmas break there was an incident at a public high school near where I grew up. This suburban school was playing a school from one of the most culturally diverse areas of Grand Rapids. As an African American player took the free throw line, a few students started making monkey noises and gestures.  Unsurprisingly, the in the following days the city and students polarized. One group of people called the entire suburb racist, and another group of people dismissed the incident as a coincidence or “kids being kids.” I am sure there were many others, like myself, that felt that taboo of diving into such a difficult topic right before the holidays.

I have been honored to have conversations within both school districts. There are leaders who are coming up with creative and kingdom minded solutions to destroy the chaos of the enemy. This is peace MAKING. Whether the act itself was intentional, unintentional, or a mix of both… the result was dishonor, division, and bitterness. These things are the result of the enemy and considered chaos. What if instead of these things we saw families, schools, and ministries in both districts choosing prayer, worship, forgiveness, and intentional relationship?  As Sons and Daughters, we are Peacemakers and partner with God to steward “Peace on Earth.”

You probably don’t live in these school districts. However, you can still be intentional to bring healing to your sphere of influence. Church, if we don’t take our place as ACTIVE peace makers, we are perpetuating the chaos. Healing happens through relationship… relationship with Jesus and relationship with others. How can you bring (AND RECEIVE) this type of healing from someone who acts, thinks, or looks different than you?