Peacemakers: Peacemakers thrive when life is calm. They love the verse: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity’ (Psalm 133:1 NIV). They make excellent counsellors and mediators, and can usually bring reconciliation to families, neighbourhoods, and workplaces. Peace is an excellent thing to work for. It’s one of the fruits of the Spirit (have a look at Galatians 5:22-23) and Jesus even said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Matthew 5:9 NIV). Abraham is a great illustration of a peacemaker. When he and his nephew Lot began to prosper, a feud broke out between their herdsmen because the land was too small to accommodate all their cattle. Realising it could split the family, Abraham took action, dealt with the problem, and saved the relationship. But sometimes peacemakers are inclined to seek peace at any price, use their relational skills to blend in, and avoid taking the initiative or taking risks because they like comfort and security. As peacemakers, we can suffer from ‘terminal niceness’ when courage is what’s really required from us in a situation. We shouldn’t let fear of conflict, or the desire for everything to be peaceful, get in the way of speaking the truth. When someone has hurt us, we don’t have to keep quiet. We can speak the truth, but in a kind and non-confrontational way. Keeping the peace doesn’t mean never speaking up for ourselves. The Bible says: ‘Speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.’ We need to have integrity. Even if we’ve got good intentions, we need to be acting in a moral and truthful way.

What Now?

If you’re a peacemaker, ask God to help you act with integrity. If you’re not, pray for those who are. Ask God to help them break free from their pattern sins.