If Peace is Impractical, so is Christianity
I get letters. Boy, do I get letters. My favorites lately are from self-described Christians who assail my recent columns on peace, informing me of my naiveté and explaining in a frankly un-Christian-like way that Jesus’ teachings on peace can be ignored because, while great in theory, they are impractical.
I find this incredibly ironic. The Christian faith is, in and of itself, impractical, but that does not exclude us from living it out.
Let’s examine the practicalities of Christianity.
We believe in and worship a God we cannot see, touch, taste, smell or hear (audibly). We believe that an unmarried teenage virgin was selected to give birth to the son of this invisible and infinite being. We know nothing of His life between the ages of 12 and 30 years old, yet we accept that Jesus Christ never committed a sin, because the Bible, a book filled with inconsistencies and contradictions, says so. We believe that Jesus was killed and then rose from the dead, visited and dined with friends, showed his wounds to the skeptical and then ascended into Heaven. None of this is practical, much less believable. Yet, despite the fact that our faith is built on the unexplainable, Christians reject the idea of peace as “unrealistic”.
Rejecting pacifism as a component of the Christian faith is, at its base level, the result of choosing logic as our moral compass. More than this, though, it is a rejection of the teachings of Christ. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called sons of God". This clearly means that those who strive for peace receive special favor from God and are His children. Please note that Jesus does not guarantee that being a peacemaker will result in peace. The opposite is clearly implied. The more we strive for peace, the more oppression we will likely face. Turning the other cheek will probably not cause your opponent to walk away cursing himself. Walking an extra mile with your enemy does not mean he will loosen your load along the way. Offering your coat to a thief does not mean that he will not demand your wallet and your car as well. It is probable that your acts of kindness in the face of hate will cause you to suffer. This is not only impractical, it is also painful. Yet, we are asked to do it because Christ did the same. “Take up your cross and follow me,” Jesus says in Matthew 16:24.
So, from a logical perspective, pacifists have everything to lose. But, for the Christian, to lose is to gain. In the passage mentioned above, Jesus goes on to say, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents peaceful responses to suffering. The world tells us to curse, condemn and hate those who wrong us. Jesus says to do the opposite. In Matthew 5:34, He says, “…love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”. Bless them, He says. Do good to and for them. Most importantly, love them. As Christians, we do not have the option to respond in any other way. Loving our enemies is a true reflection of the unconditional love of Christ within us and acknowledges the humanity and Christ within our enemies.
But, hey, maybe some of us would like to be Christians and leave the teachings of Christ out of it. If so, we can look to James, Peter and Paul to find the same message.
In James 3:18, we read that righteousness is a product of peaceful living. In connecting righteousness with peacemaking, James is making two profound observations. First, as Christians, seeds of righteousness must be planted nonviolently, "sown in peace" so that godly fruits may grow. Encouraging discord and choosing to fight our enemies will not spread the word of God because we will not be a witness for God as a loving Father. Second, James points out that sowing the seeds of righteousness is the responsibility of peacemakers. We cannot spread the Word of God while participating in violence. As Christ illustrated in the parable of the planter in the field, sowing the seed of Christ with strife would be like ravaging the soil and expecting a plentiful harvest.
Peter, in 1 Peter 2:20-21 says “…But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Christ was not only our savior, he was our example of obedience to God.
And then there’s Paul. In Romans 12:19, Paul instructs us “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” He adds, in verse 21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Contrary to current thought, Christians have no biblical “mandate” to "bring justice" to those who have wronged us. In fact, later in Romans, Paul says that the only people open to the judgment of the church are those who are within it. We are called to live in peace with everyone.
Finally, in Hebrews 12:14, Paul puts it as succinctly as possible. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” We are to seek peace with everyone. This includes the victims of crime as well as the perpetrators of crime.
As Christians, we do not have the option to decide to follow select teachings of Jesus Christ that have passed our own individual litmus tests and been filtered through a worldview more suited to our own likes and dislikes. Regardless of whether it is practical or realistic, Christians are called to be followers of Christ, not of the world. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The Lord is reflected not only in our words, but in our actions as well.
It’s not easy. But the right thing seldom is. For a people of faith, we must look at peace in much the same way we look at God. We cannot see it on the horizon and sometimes it is hard to understand, but we must strive to live for it as if it was right beside us and made perfect sense.
I find this incredibly ironic. The Christian faith is, in and of itself, impractical, but that does not exclude us from living it out.
Let’s examine the practicalities of Christianity.
We believe in and worship a God we cannot see, touch, taste, smell or hear (audibly). We believe that an unmarried teenage virgin was selected to give birth to the son of this invisible and infinite being. We know nothing of His life between the ages of 12 and 30 years old, yet we accept that Jesus Christ never committed a sin, because the Bible, a book filled with inconsistencies and contradictions, says so. We believe that Jesus was killed and then rose from the dead, visited and dined with friends, showed his wounds to the skeptical and then ascended into Heaven. None of this is practical, much less believable. Yet, despite the fact that our faith is built on the unexplainable, Christians reject the idea of peace as “unrealistic”.
Rejecting pacifism as a component of the Christian faith is, at its base level, the result of choosing logic as our moral compass. More than this, though, it is a rejection of the teachings of Christ. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called sons of God". This clearly means that those who strive for peace receive special favor from God and are His children. Please note that Jesus does not guarantee that being a peacemaker will result in peace. The opposite is clearly implied. The more we strive for peace, the more oppression we will likely face. Turning the other cheek will probably not cause your opponent to walk away cursing himself. Walking an extra mile with your enemy does not mean he will loosen your load along the way. Offering your coat to a thief does not mean that he will not demand your wallet and your car as well. It is probable that your acts of kindness in the face of hate will cause you to suffer. This is not only impractical, it is also painful. Yet, we are asked to do it because Christ did the same. “Take up your cross and follow me,” Jesus says in Matthew 16:24.
So, from a logical perspective, pacifists have everything to lose. But, for the Christian, to lose is to gain. In the passage mentioned above, Jesus goes on to say, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents peaceful responses to suffering. The world tells us to curse, condemn and hate those who wrong us. Jesus says to do the opposite. In Matthew 5:34, He says, “…love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”. Bless them, He says. Do good to and for them. Most importantly, love them. As Christians, we do not have the option to respond in any other way. Loving our enemies is a true reflection of the unconditional love of Christ within us and acknowledges the humanity and Christ within our enemies.
But, hey, maybe some of us would like to be Christians and leave the teachings of Christ out of it. If so, we can look to James, Peter and Paul to find the same message.
In James 3:18, we read that righteousness is a product of peaceful living. In connecting righteousness with peacemaking, James is making two profound observations. First, as Christians, seeds of righteousness must be planted nonviolently, "sown in peace" so that godly fruits may grow. Encouraging discord and choosing to fight our enemies will not spread the word of God because we will not be a witness for God as a loving Father. Second, James points out that sowing the seeds of righteousness is the responsibility of peacemakers. We cannot spread the Word of God while participating in violence. As Christ illustrated in the parable of the planter in the field, sowing the seed of Christ with strife would be like ravaging the soil and expecting a plentiful harvest.
Peter, in 1 Peter 2:20-21 says “…But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Christ was not only our savior, he was our example of obedience to God.
And then there’s Paul. In Romans 12:19, Paul instructs us “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” He adds, in verse 21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Contrary to current thought, Christians have no biblical “mandate” to "bring justice" to those who have wronged us. In fact, later in Romans, Paul says that the only people open to the judgment of the church are those who are within it. We are called to live in peace with everyone.
Finally, in Hebrews 12:14, Paul puts it as succinctly as possible. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” We are to seek peace with everyone. This includes the victims of crime as well as the perpetrators of crime.
As Christians, we do not have the option to decide to follow select teachings of Jesus Christ that have passed our own individual litmus tests and been filtered through a worldview more suited to our own likes and dislikes. Regardless of whether it is practical or realistic, Christians are called to be followers of Christ, not of the world. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The Lord is reflected not only in our words, but in our actions as well.
It’s not easy. But the right thing seldom is. For a people of faith, we must look at peace in much the same way we look at God. We cannot see it on the horizon and sometimes it is hard to understand, but we must strive to live for it as if it was right beside us and made perfect sense.
Comments