"There Is No Peace" In This
World
Ever since I was a young child, I have heard the cry for world peace. Yet, as
this world continues, we see less and less of peace on a broad scale. There
is a reason why we do not have peace, and why there will never be peace in our
world.
Agreeing to disagree is not peaceful at all, but kind of pointless. That is
the problem many people have come across by such reasoning, that if you do not
condemn my actions then I will not condemn your actions. With such a standard,
or lack thereof, we find that there can be no standard of right or wrong by
which to measure ourselves.
Peace can only occur when people have a common goal or interest. Every relationship
exists because of an agreement between two parties to hold to a common standard.
This standard may be as simple as a verbal agreement, or it may require legal
documentation by which to hold each other accountable. The problem in our world
today is that the other party needs to be held accountable to this standard
agreed upon, but "do not hold me accountable". In politics, one party
may consider an action a righteous thing to do, but when the other party does
the exact same thing, they cry foul and condemn such actions. Do you see where
this is heading? Of course, you are waiting for the word "hypocrisy".
When we bring the scale down to smaller groups and relationships, we have a
better chance at having peace.
An example I experienced when I had open-heart surgery in the hospital really
impressed me, and quite frankly, got me to thinking. As I talked with my many
care-givers I realized that they came from different backgrounds and cultures.
Some of which are in violent conflict today somewhere in the world. Yet despite
their differences, they were focused upon a common goal. That goal was the health
and care of their patients. You see that when people are working toward a common
goal, they find a way to get along.
A family relationship can only have peace if everyone in that family works towards
a common goal or standard. As a result, there is something worth holding onto
and striving to keep in such a relationship. Yet when one chooses to seek a
different path, there is going to be friction as would happen in any relationship.
For any relationship to be at peace, there has to be an agreement, or a common
understanding in place. A husband and wife make the agreement to be faithful
to each other, yet when one strays from that agreement, there is friction and
then bad things happen.
When citizens do not follow certain guidelines, there is going to be friction
for someone. Those who want to break the law will find that there are consequences
for their actions. The current effort to ignore law-breakers is going to encourage
further law-breaking, and the end result will be tragic for so many people.
We will not have peace in our nation unless we can come together with a common
goal. About the only thing that can do that is a national catastrophe. We certainly
do not wish for it, but it may be necessary. We already have civil unrest running
rampant and half the people in our country condemn it and half the people champion
such.
The only solution to solve our problem is for the people to turn to God and
abide by His rules. Sounds good, right? Even Jesus said that there would be
few who will walk that straight and narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14).
Let us follow the commands of the Bible and strive to be peace-makers and not
trouble-makers.
By Carey Scott
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