War Is Not Always Far Away
I have been thinking about the wars we see in the news and how they fit into my Christian worldview.
The Old Testament is full of wars, while in the New Testament Jesus calls us to live at peace with everyone. It can feel complicated. When do we step in for justice, and when do we allow others to make their own decisions?
We all say we want peace on a global scale, but we often struggle to keep peace in our own sphere of
influence.
The word war comes from a Germanic root meaning "to confuse or bring into disorder." War is not only armed conflict between nations-it is also the confusion and division that happen when disagreements
escalate and relationships break down.
I recently sat with a mom going through a painful divorce where their child had become a pawn in the conflict. We see similar struggles in social media posts where people attack each other rather than
listen. We see it in politics, where character attacks replace meaningful dialogue. Sometimes I wonder if
war is not only something happening far away, but also something happening within our communities.
How can we demand peace in other countries if we struggle to live it out in our own lives? How can we call for justice globally if we do not practice it locally?
Maybe peace begins closer to home.
You and I can be peacemakers by how we speak about others, by recognizing the value of every person we meet, and by choosing to respond to conflict with humility and grace.
PS: preaching to myself here. I can be very opinionated. I am learning the importance of sitting in the room with difference.
War Is Not Always Far Away
I have been thinking about the wars we see in the news and their consequences. As a Christian,
I often struggle with how war fits into my worldview.
The Old Testament is full of wars and battles, while in the New Testament Jesus calls us to live at peace with everyone. It can feel complicated.
When do we step in to ensure justice?
When do we allow countries to make their own decisions?
When are we helping, and when are we trying to be the savior or the hero of the story?
We all say we want peace on a global scale, but sometimes we struggle to keep peace in our own sphere of influence.
Looking at the word war, I learned that it comes from a Germanic root meaning "to confuse, to perplex, to bring into confusion." Another definition describes war as "a state of armed conflict between different countries or groups within a country."
But war is more than tanks and soldiers on a distant battlefield. War can also be the confusion
and conflict that happens when disagreements escalate and relationships break down.
I was sitting with a mom the other day who is going through a painful divorce. Their child has become a pawn in the conflict between two adults. Watching the heartbreak unfold, I wondered: What could peace look like in this situation?
I scroll through Facebook and see posts that break my heart, people attacking each other,
systems being criticized, but rarely anyone truly listening or trying to understand.
I see injustice in our own community, yet it is often easier to talk about justice around the world than to work toward better systems in our own neighborhoods.
I watch politicians attack each other instead of having thoughtful dialogue about the issues that
actually, matter to the people they serve.
Sometimes I realize that war is not just something that happens between nations-it also happens within our communities, our conversations, and even our hearts.
We live in a world where we often stop discussing important issues and instead begin attacking
each other's character.
So, I find myself asking difficult questions:
How can we demand peace in other countries if we struggle to live it out in our own country? How can we call for justice around human rights if we are not practicing justice in our own
communities?
Maybe peace begins much closer to home than we think.
You and I can become peacemakers in our communities, by the way we talk about people, by the way we recognize the dignity and value of every person we encounter,
and by the way we respond when conflict arises.
Peace may not start on the global stage.
It might start in a conversation, around a dinner table, or in the way we choose to listen to someone we disagree with.
PS: I am preaching to myself here. I can be very opinionated, and I am learning the importance of simply sitting in the room with difference.
Let Merced be a the city of mercy and peace.
War is not always far away
I have been thinking about our latest war and its consequences. I am always struggling how war fits into my Christian worldview. The Old Testament is full of wars, while in the New Testament
Jesus encourages us to live at peace with everyone. It can get so complicated. When do we step is to ensure justice? What do we let countries make their own decisions? When are we trying to be the savior or the hero of the story? We all want peace on a global scale, but we hardly keep peace in our own world of influence.
Looking at Wikipedia, I learned that the word 'war' comes from a German word and can mean "'to confuse, to perplex, to bring into confusion." Another definition says, "a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country."
War, is more than a conflict in another country, it is conflict of various forms, the confusion that
comes when people disagree and take it to the next level.
I was with a mom the other day who is going through a nasty divorce, and their child is the pawn in the game. What could peace look like in this situation?
I see Facebook posts that break my heart where people and systems are attacked without people hearing each other and learning to work together.
I see injustice in our own community, but it is so much easier to talk about justice around the world, instead of better systems in our own neighborhoods.
I see politicians attacking each other instead of having a dialogue around the topics that matter to the community.
I see war within our own communities. We live in a world where we are not talking about issues of importance, but where we attack people's character.
How can we demand peace in other countries, when our own country is not living it out? How can we want justice around human rights, when we don't live it out in our community? You and I can be peacemakers in our community, by the way we talk about people, by the way we see the value of every person we encounter, by the way we respond to a situation.
PS I am preaching to myself, I can be super opinionated and want to learn to sit in the room
with difference.