A Culture Of Strife!

February 4, 2021

A Culture Of Strife!

Engaging in acts of violence to prove I am right, spewing out hateful words in response to injustice, and clutching onto perversion so we can feel loved are all around.  Deception defines many of our relationships, distraction is a way of coping with our disappointment, and despair is “just the way it is.”

Whether we inflict pain on those we love, those we have never met, or on ourselves it appears we live in a culture of strife.  There is dissension, discord, and dispute all around.  There is conflict, contention, and controversy everywhere we go. 

We have created a culture of strife.  We are responsible.  However, instead of taking responsibility for the way things are and then trying to do something to change it, we usually resort to blaming other people. 

It is easy to blame the political party that we do not like, the employer we do not like, or the people we do not like.  It is easy to blame the ex-spouse who hurt you, the co-worker who undermined you, or the friend who betrayed you.  It is easy to blame someone who is younger than you, has a different skin color than you, or goes to a different school than you.

It is much easier to blame someone else than to take personal responsibility to do something about the culture of strife in which we live.

In Psalm 37:37 we hear a promise of the Lord God; “Think of the bright future waiting for all the families of honest and innocent and peace-loving people.” 

I like this promise of a “bright future.”  And, I like the hope of a life that is better and fuller and more abundant; a life that the Lord God has always dreamed for us.  There is hope!  There is a future filled peace, there is a tomorrow filled with joy, there is a today filled with love, and there is a past filled with forgiveness.

It starts with you and me and what we allow the grace and mercy and love of Jesus to do in us as well as do through our words, our actions, and our attitudes.  If we want our culture of strife and striving to be transformed, it will start with you and me.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear the first teaching moment that Jesus provides for the disciples.  In that teaching, Jesus lays out the core of what it means to be a Christ-follower.  In the first section (often called “The Beatitudes”) of that teaching, Jesus says; “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  (Matthew 5:9)

To be a child of God, to be a Christ-follower, to be a person after God’s on heart means that we will give considerable time, energy, and prayer to making peace rather than causing strife.  We will engage our words when others are silent.  We will engage our hands when others are still.  We will engage our prayers when others are self-absorbed.

My prayer is that our culture of strife will be transformed into the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is where the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings…Jesus…will reign with peace and joy and love for all people. 

The Kingdom of God will continue to grow in our midst when we become the peacemakers Jesus calls us to be.  And then, whenever we catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God in our midst, we will delight in our Savior Jesus. 

Let’s commit to be Christ-followers who are peacemakers!

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug