I've been ruminating the last day or two on what it means to be a "peacemaker." I think that when we read the Sermon on the Mount, we often think of "peace" as opposed to war. Duh. But what I've been processing is the idea of being a peacemaker in all of life particularly in my personal relationships. I guess I see that that are lots of people who like to escalate situations -- make them a bigger deal, get people all riled up, fight for a cause, etc. But I wonder if the greater call of being a "peacemaker" is in my personal and work relationships to "de-escalate" situations, to seek win-win situations, to sacrifice my own personal interests in order to keep things "peaceful."
I don't know...thoughts?
1 comment:
Being a peacemaker is probably the harder choice. Being able to see both sides of a situation and truly empathize with the people on those sides would definitely help. It means putting aside your own agenda many times for the "greater good." It means treating people with respect even when personally you think their idea/side is ridiculous. I know I'm rambling, but it's late and my thoughts are jumbled. Too bad there aren't more people who are interested in being peacemakers instead of being right. This ties in really well with the conversations you and I have already had about the whole "beat them over the head with our 'brand' of Christianity" issue. It's all about the love :) - Katie
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