By Chris WittsMonday 23 May 2022Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
A little boy asked his dad one day “how do wars begin, Dad.” “Well, son, World War 1 began because Germany invaded Belgium.” At this point, his wife interrupted. “Tell the boy the truth, will you? It began because somebody was murdered.” “Are you answering the question, or am I?” And she stormed out of the room and slammed the door as hard as she could.
There was an uneasy silence, and the little boy said, “Daddy, you don’t need to tell me how wars began. I know now.” Well, no matter what you do or where you go, there’s no way you can survive in this world all by yourself.
Living at Peace with others
That’s why you need to learn how to live in peace with yourself and with others. And Romans 12:18 from the New Testament, has a wonderful verse that says, “If at all possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone,“. It seems that this verse from the Bible does say it’s not always possible to live at peace with some people. It’s really sad, I think, to know there are some people, no matter what you do, they’re still going to make life difficult for you. You can’t get on with them, but in reality, it doesn’t have anything to do with you.
It’s all about their pain and their hurt. There are some people who, no matter how nice you are to them, are still going to be mean to you. Now I’m sure you’ve experienced this. It can be a bit of a puzzle and upsetting. Of course, you’re going to have to accept this fact that some people are not going to change. All you can do is change your perspective. With God’s help, you can be a bigger person than this difficult one in your life. It won’t be easy, but God can help you make a few changes. Isn’t it true that people are often flawed? They’re imperfect, they’re selfish, and if you expect to get joy and peace from them, you’re going to stay miserable.
Instead, we look to Jesus and consider what factors were precious to him. We matter, and letting these truths sink into your head and heart will help you stop getting upset with others. After all, who wants to be in a toxic relationship with someone. It’s not worth the effort, and I do need to say this. Don’t let other people’s actions or reactions affect you negatively. How many times have you felt rejected by a nasty comment directed at you? It’s uncalled for. You’re there, say, to enjoy a great day, and then someone makes a negative comment to you, or you hear something spiteful that someone said about you behind your back. Maybe someone embarrasses you in a group, makes you feel as though you’re not good enough.
You can choose not to give anyone the power to define what your mood will be or what kind of a person you are going to be. You can choose to let it go and still keep your peace. And isn’t that good news in Jesus Christ. You can have divine peace, the peace that he can give.
I know that having a serious fallout with someone can damage your own peace. But as far as we’re concerned, we are to seek peace. We’re not answerable to other people. We’re answerable for our own conduct. If you go out of your way to be nice to your friend and he or she rebuffs you, that’s a situation you can give to the Lord. Ask him to sort it out. Everyone’s unique. Everyone’s got their own way of thinking, and you need to accept them just the way they are. When you try to change other people, you’ll end up losing your own peace. You get into an argument because people will find that you’re trying to violate their rules and characters.
Only God through the Holy Spirit can change people now. Sometimes it’s better to just walk away from a tense situation. Take a breather. Come back to that conversation later and you might be feeling better. I think therefore, important words here do all you can. That’s what the Bible says. After all. Sometimes we do all we can. The relationship still falls apart and people still don’t get along, so it’s not always possible. As the Bible says, It doesn’t depend on you.
Psalm 34:14 says:
“Search for peace and work to maintain it.” It does take a lot of work. It means don’t get even with people. Let your emotions fade. Don’t start the argument. Don’t provoke somebody else. If there is a controversy, don’t prolong it. Don’t push their buttons. Sometimes it’s best to keep quiet. Paul’s words of advice and encouragement, I think, are good – Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other’s faults because of your love and make every effort to keep yourself united in the spirit. Binding yourselves together with peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3)
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father. How upsetting it is when a good relationship is soured. Sometimes, Lord, we don’t know why relationships fall off the tracks. I pray you will give me today a sense of doing all I can to get on with other people to live at peace with everyone. I pray for Jesus sake, Amen.