Your Daily Devotional for July 6, 2006

 

July 6, 2006

 

Becoming a Peacemaker

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

“Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.”

 

Proverbs 3:30-32

 

Friend, as we study God’s Word today, may we realize the need for peacemakers. The world in which we live is constantly in a state of turmoil. Whether it is people fighting over which team they want to win, or the fear of what catastrophe the weather will bring, we would have to agree that our world is always upset over something.

 

If we want to become peacemakers, there are some things that a peacemaker does not do. First of all, a peacemaker does not quarrel. Verse 30 says, “Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.” Sometimes you’ll meet people who constantly talk about everything wrong with the world, but God desires against this. He wants us to make peace with man rather than strive with man.

 

In verse 32 we see, “For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.” The word “froward” in this verse is an old English word which means “crooked or twisted.” I have found that there are some people who delight in quarreling and in twisting things, but a peaceful man is not of a litigious or quarrelsome spirit.

 

Secondly, we see that a peaceful man does not envy evildoers. We must not be a people who envy those living a worldly lifestyle. Proverbs 24:1 says, “Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.” If you have a home in Heaven, you have more than what the people of the world do! Don’t be envious of someone who does not know Jesus as their Saviour.

 

Thirdly, we see that a peaceful man does not speak deceitfully. So many people have a crooked spirit that they are trying to turn someone against another person. They try to get teenagers to turn against their parents, church members to turn against the pastor, and husbands and wives to turn against each other. You cannot find this deceitful speech in a man of peace; for he is only speaking of something good, or something about which to praise God.

 

The story is told of a monk who went to Rome one day when he heard a commotion. He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to Ceasar, we die for Ceasar" and he thought, "This isn't right." He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd protested and began to shout, "Run him through; run him through." A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand.

 

He got up and ran back and again said, "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd continued to chant, "Run him through." One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach and he fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, "In the name of Christ, forbear." A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.

 

Friend, may it be said of us that we brought peace to wherever we were. We don’t need more trouble in the world, but we do need more peace! We need to approach every day with the attitude of, “Lord, help me to be a peacemaker. I don’t want to cause strife and contention in my home, my church, and my work. I want to help others come to You!”  Will you be known as a person who helped bring peace wherever you went?

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