PEACE has come to mean different things to different people. Consequently, true pacemakers are rare today.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called th children of God,” Mat 5:9
Peace is a very common word, often misused. Even those spreading hate and malice in national matters claim to be doing so for peace.
Peace According To Politicians & Terror Groups
Peace according to Kenyan key politicians is galvanizing support from their tribes, looking for other tribes to gang up against the tribe of the man they consider the greatest Devil. Then in a new electoral cycle the other angels have become demons and the demons become angels, ganging up against the others.
Peace according to Raila Odinga is going to Jubilee to cause chaos, hatred and division that spreads down to the common man. Peace according to Ruto and Sudi is making veiled disgraceful references to individuals and/or communities.
If you interviewed our key politicians, Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga, William Ruto, Oscar Sudi or others what they want most for this country, they would tell you, PEACE FOR KENYA. Yet their words or actions may not be going the way of that peace.
Peace according to Alshabaab is to blow up buildings and kill hundreds of infidels. Peace according to Boko Haram is to capture hundreds of young girls and ruin their future as they fight for the “peace” of Nigeria. If you asked Alshabaab or Boko Haram why they do that, Shabaab would tell you they want the peace of Somalia, Boko Haram would tell you they want the peace of Nigeria.
The Peace Concept In Some Families
Peace according to some randy husbands is to beat up the wife every time she confronts him with his extra marital affairs including why he is an accomplished flirt with women in social media, calling them dear, darling, sweetheart, honey, when at home he refers to her as Mama Ocampo, Mama Osama, Mama Saddam, Mama Agwambo. Beat her senseless hadi aache maswali ya ujinga, then peace follows as she is subdued
Peace According To Bible & Dictionary
According to lexicographer Merriam Webster, peace is defined as:
1: state of tranquility or quiet
2: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.
3: harmony in personal relations
4: pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity offered the possibility of a negotiated peace
Peace in the Old Testament is best understood through the Hebrew word Shalom, which is defined as a condition of freedom from disturbance, whether outwardly, as of a nation from war or enemies, or inwardly, within the soul. The Hebrew word is shālōm (both adjective and substantive), meaning, primarily, “soundness,” “health,” but coming also to signify “prosperity,” well-being in general, all good in relation to both man and God.
In the new Testament, peace is associated with Christ and His Gospel. Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace, and His gospel is generally known and referred to as the Gospel of peace
Where Are We When It Comes To Peace?
Majority of humans love peace. But some of us are problematic. There are husbands like the one above who can give their wives everything but peace. They want to live the way they want, and the wife should keep silent.
If she coughs, hell breaks loose in the home. Even cats and dogs in that house will know that house belongs to a man from hell. The rats and roaches will scamper for safety. The kids cry or watch in disbelief as verbal and physical fights squiz their little oxygen in the house, their pleas to Daddy to leave Mummy fall on deaf ears. Only then will some forced peace follow.
From My Observations.
I have observed how some women have caused their hubbies to lack peace at home because of their razor sharp tongues that can cut the hubby with a 1000 words per minute over very simple issues. In her own full blast volume, the woman of the house seems to enjoy neighbors hearing her put the man where he belongs.
For the sake of peace and to avoid further embarrassment, the hubby gives in to the hard demands of the queen of the home or simply walks out. She is happy she knows how to create peace by subjugating the man.
I have observed how some parents have brought up their children in an environment where the kids grow up thinking that marriage is a prison and home is a hell on earth. Apart from their own squabbles, either one or both parents do not give the kids peace. Verbal insults, beatings, pinching and punching the kids.
I had a neighbor who lived 50 meters behind our house, a lady who literally called her kids every imaginable animal name. Mbaka (cat), Mbiti (fisi) Ngiti (dog), etc. And when she got hold of that little boy to beat him up, neighbors literally had to go out and save him from her fury. A little boy below ten years will grow up with no peace in his heart, and may never define it.
So Who Are The True Peacemakers?
All humans belong to God in the sense that we have all come from Adam the First Man. We are ALL children of God in that sense. Anyone therefore who loves, prizes and maintains peace is a child of God. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
Kofi Anan was a true child of God who negotiated peace between nations. He left a legacy in Kenya after the peace deal he negotiated between Raila and Kibaki in 2008. To date Kenyans refer to a prafemaker, whether in family or formal settings, as Kofi Anan.
But there is a better and more permanent way of being children of God. By receiving the Gospel of peace and the Prince of Peace in your heart. Then and only then can we be true peace ambassadors for Christ in all our surroundings – at home, at work, in church, etc. It was only after his demise that I understood why Kofi was so successful as a peacemaker. Anan was born again.
The people of this world misuse the concept of peace to suit their selfish desires or political ambitions. Raila Odinga once won international award for peace, the Nobel Peace Prize. He has been invited to negotiate peace in other conflict prone nations. Raila who sacrificed his presidential victory for peace to unite Kenyans.
Nevertheless the kind of peace he is bringing today in Kenya has raised political temperatures higher than ever, and the bridges he is building have broken ethnic bridges that were intact before then. Kenya is now more divided than united in the name of peace and unity. This is not the kind of peace characteristic of God’s true children. This kind of peace will not pass the test of time, and the outcome may be worse.
Families that embrace false peace of fighting, overpowering, and subjugating each other will never enjoy real peace. They fall, or if they stand, they will raise up kids who will always refer to a dictionary to define peace. People who will only grow up to to transfer conflict and trouble into their relationships and marriages.
Every human being, saved or unsaved, must endeavor to maintain true peace in its true concept in our various contexts. I hail the husband or wife who for the sake of peace chooses to lie low like an envelope to let the other have his or way.
But I assure you, such a marriage is a disaster in the making. A man may pretend to lie low when he feels subdued, but he will be working his way out behind the scenes, or planning to Christinize you the Patrick Nyapara way. Women beware, and make peace at home. Stop pushing beyond
True children of God are peacemakers. In every setting and situation, be known to be a peace lover and peacemaker. Do not fuel fights. Keep your motives clear. Do not favor the side of evil. If the party who sought your intervention be on the wrong on this and that, make it clear. In every conflict there are mistakes on both sides in varying degrees or numbers.
In any peace making endeavor, do not force a compromise that will hurt one party and let the other feel superior. Whether you are mediating at work or in a family, call a spade a spade and confront each side with their share of misdeeds and breaches of peace.
Be gentle and tactful. Listen to EVERYONE keenly. Be in control. But above all, rely on God’s help. God’s children depend on God’s help for God’s peace.
Wherever you are, you should be known to be a peacemaker. Be the man or the woman troubled people can run to when their homes, relationships or lives are chaos. Be the voice of reason. Be a beacon of hope. Love peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14)
In all matters of conflict between you and others, be the first to seek peaceful solution. Just seek peace by all means. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”, Hebrews 12:14
In my experiences as Luke Divines with others, I have come to conclude that peace with EVERYONE is virtually IMPOSSIBLE. Some of our neighbors, friends or relatives are so evil that at times no matter what you do, they are bent on making life the harder for you or others. No matter what you do, they are bent on war. They just don’t want peace
Keep balance. Keeping peace does not mean you become a zombie who cannot rebuke evil or just watches as your spouse, friends or neighbors run loose. Keeping peace does not mean you compromise to mediocrity. We must learn the difference.
But the Bible urges us to do our utmost to keep peace with everyone, even after the worst of confrontations. In matters family or interpersonal conflicts, be quick to seek peace before matters get out of hand. Keep peace in your heart and remain peaceable. “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone,” Romans 12:18.
Never be the kind of person who loves seeing others at war with each other. Never exaggerate issues or pull words or utterances out of context with a motive to cause conflicts between friends, neighbors, or ethnic groups.
Never overstretch unfortunate, equivocal, and ambiguous utterances by politicians in order to w
hip emotions of your tribesmen to hate a politician or his tribe in return. If you sow seeds or fan sparks of ethnic hate, you will reap the same in abundant measure.
Unless a politician tells his people to attack your tribe or kill, avoid going on a “revenge mission” on social media and spreading the fire of ethnic hate. Kenya is an ethically hypersensitive nation. Peace
FINALLY, AS PEACEMAKERS, LET GOD’S PEACE FIRST REIN IN YOUR HEART
“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].” The Amplified Bible.
God bless you,
Luke C Divines
Divines Media & Publications 