HOW TO PURSUE PEACE
‘Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ‘ Hebrews 12:14
Growing up in Chicago, I thought California was the coolest place in the USA. I imagined everyone had long blonde hair with that distinct sort of stoner California accent. Basically, Matthew McConaughey in the film Dazed & Confused. A place where everyone was “cool” and threw up the peace sign to each other, a modern nirvana.
After living in California for more than a decade, I realized, it’s not really like that at all. Of course you have you have your exceptions, but, big picture, hardly at all. However, I do believe that California has a “peace” type of personality at the core. It’s a place for creatives and adventurers. A place where you can dream and discover more of who you are and how you fit into this world.
I do love California in so many way. Sometimes, when I get discouraged about how expensive everything is, I remind myself of all these creative outlets in this great state. And, it is peaceful and brings me to a place of peace.
I wish there was more peace in this season which brings me back to this verse in Hebrews. It says, “pursue peace with all men.” That is a HUGE statement for all of us.
We are going through a pandemic on top of systemic racism on top of our regular issues of life. These are some powerful ingredients when mixed the wrong way create catastrophic recipes. Instead of the peace we seek, we create more anxiousness, fear and depression in people.
I’m not saying I have any idea of how peace is supposed to work under these circumstances. What I am saying is this scripture is REALLY tough to hold onto in the midst of all these storms.
But — what a great challenge.
Can you imagine this idea in your own life? The idea to pursue “peace” with all people? I have so many non-peaceful ideas about this I have to share some. Here’s a few in my head.
Pursue peace with that troll on Twitter.
Pursue peace with that family member who is probably racist.
Pursue peace with the co-worker who constantly wants to bombard you with their beliefs.
Pursue peace with the “Karen’s” of the world.
Pursue peace with the “Kevin’s” of the world.
Pursue peace with that neighbor who is completely socially unaware.
Pursue peace with your spouse.
Pursue peace with your kids.
Pursue peace with your boss.
Pursue peace with things that are out of your control.
I’m sure there are a hundred more items we could list. My hope is some of these sparked moments for you where you could do better. We can all do better when it comes to peace.
I mean, what does it cost you to be at peace with someone else?
Another thought is, “why are you not at peace with someone or something?” Are you holding a grudge against someone? Is there a bit of pride that is keeping you from sharing your peace? Why are we reluctant to share our peace or be at peace?
These are all questions to search our soul. We owe ourselves these answers and it’s a powerful topic to explore. It’s not just knowing that you don’t feel at peace about something but even more powerful to understand the “why” behind the lack of peace.
If there’s someone or something that you are not at peace with, I wonder if you’d consider how you could pursue peace? I wonder what that would look like for you? I wonder if you could get yourself to do something different and forge a new path of peace?
I wonder …
