I remember being in the presence of real violence for the very first time. I was in kindergarten. The kickball game at recess had been interrupted because two of my classmates were arguing over a play at first base. (“I WAS SAFE!” “NO, YOU WERE OUT!”) The argument escalated until one of the boys balled up his fist and hit the other boy squarely in the face. Standing close by, I was horrified by the unmistakable sound of flesh smashing against flesh. The boy who had been hit fell to the ground. I stood there, transfixed by the intensity of the moment and nauseated by the sight of blood trickling out of the fallen boy’s mouth.
I won’t ever forget that moment. In my mind, I can still hear the punch. It was my brutal initiation into a violent world—a world of warfare and terrorism; a world of hateful words and bitter feuds; a world in which children learn to fight one another over something as insignificant as a kickball game.
The fact that we live in the midst of such violence makes the following words of Scripture all the more meaningful: “As shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the Gospel of Peace” (Ephesians 6:15). These words unsettle me whenever I read them (which I did just this morning). They unsettle me because of the way in which they bring to light the fact that, in my personal spiritual garb, I am often much more drawn to the combat boots of coercion than I am to the shoes of the Gospel of Peace. When I reflect upon this particular portion of the spiritual armor of God, I am instantaneously reminded that the way of Christ is to become more passionate about reconciliation than I am about retaliation; more passionate about mercy than I am about manipulation; more passionate about patient listening than I am about winning the argument.
I may not have the wherewithal as an individual disciple to bring peace to the Middle East. I may not possess the necessary influence to end all manifestations of warfare. But will the fact that I cannot create world peace prevent me from creating SOME peace? Will I dare to incarnate the Gospel of Peace in my little corner of the world? Will I dare to allow myself to be so inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit that I become a peacemaker in my home, in my family, in my neighborhood, in my network of relationships, and in my church? What might such a peace-making life look like for me?
As I type these words, I am praying a prayer. Specifically, I am praying that I will begin to make a more substantive place in my spiritual wardrobe for the shoes that enable me to proclaim the Gospel of Peace wherever I walk. Will you join me in that wardrobe expansion? Will you join me in the kind of sanctification that produces gentle-hearted people whose words are edifying rather than insulting and whose governing passion is for relationship rather than acrimonious division? Then, and only then, will be able to say with integrity that we are proclaimers and practitioners of the Gospel of Peace.
count me in for the shoes, I am an 8 1/2~
Peace out,
Barb
Great post. I am imperfect but am with you. Peace, brother.
At a Gestalt Weekend recently I was working with some inner ancient anger issues and was invited to picture the person I was angry with as a pile of pillows and beat the pile with a baseball bat. My inclinations toward peace kept me from doing it even though it probably would have been good for my soul. It just felt too violent. I’ll tell you though the ancient inner anger is still intact and I deal with it daily. I wonder when, then, is it healthy to put peace aside?
Debra…
Perhaps authentic peace does not require that we put our anger aside. Rather, perhaps authentic peace requires the kind of “anger management” that makes certain that our anger is a righteous one.
You’ve heard me say before that forgiveness means, not forgetting, but remembering in a healthier fashion. In much the same way, perhaps the pursuit of peace is not the absence of anger but rather the presence of a well-managed anger—the kind of anger that does not lead to hatred and retaliation.
ooh, I don’t know if I could have a true peace while still possessing anger, even if it is still small - it would be simmering. I think instead of management, I would need a conversion of the anger to something less stinging such as sadness or disappointment. I had a situation last year that evoked a lot of anger. I would desparately like to have some peace about this topic, but find that difficult because I still have a seed of anger. It’s like a wound that is slow to heal, someday even though it will never look the same and a scar will remain, the pain will be gone.
I understand your point, Allene. But think about this example:
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the people who worked with him never lost their righteous anger over the racism against which they were fighting. It would be impossible, after all, for them to experience an inner peace when being told on a daily basis that there was to be one fountain (or restroom) for whites and another for blacks.
However, even though they maintained their righteous anger over the reality of racism, they committed themselves to a non-violent protest, thereby honoring their cause and thereby honoring the personhood of even those people who were (sometimes violently) working against them.
You are right in pointing out that a seed of anger can still cause problems. But there are some things that DESERVE anger. Therefore, what option do we have but to allow the Spirit to manage our anger so that it becomes more of a righteous protest of wrongdoing instead of a constant and oppressive disruption to our inner peace? The biblical counsel, in fact, is this: “Be angry, but do not sin.” (Ephesians 4:26)
I have been with you for a long time brother.I don’t know if you remember the argument I had with a friend that I had met through Cub Scouts and childrens sporting events. He did not like something my 8 year old child did and when I went to make peace with him he was very angry with ME and said he should have thrown my child across the gym floor. Because of you helping me become a better Christan, I just walked away and I pray he will come to his sences one day. The OLD Mike Jordan would have, for lack of cleaner words, decked him and called it a day.
Thank you my friend!
To God be the glory, Mike. It sounds like the Spirit is helping both of us to become more faithful followers of the Prince of Peace.
Thanks for your kind words of affirmation, brother. It is a blessing and an honor to stand beside you in the journey.
OK….in mulling over the issue to an obsessive degree. I guess that my problem is in how to have a healthy anger without internalizing it into “anger turned inward=depression and self hatred”. Since I didn’t beat the object of my anger with the baseball bat, I can suffice to say I had a healthy anger AND did not sin. The next step is to do something positive with the anger before it liquifies into my “self.” Perhaps returning to the pile of pillows, perhaps a bucket of golf balls, perhaps holes in the backyard. Something physical to keep the anger on the outside rather than swallowing it.
Debra—Being the psycho-physical beings that we are, one should never minimize the significance of doing something physical for the purpose of “exorcising” some of our excess emotional energy. Our emotions and our physical processes, after all, are inseparably linked.
For example, in addition to leaving my unhealthy anger at the foot of the cross, I have also left a good portion of it on the treadmill, the elliptical machine, and the weightlifting bench.
You are onto something here, my friend. Now, go hit those golf balls!!
Andrew—”Covert Coercion” is actually chapter 7 of my autobiography!!
Well I know my locker always did stink from my gym shoes. But when I leave for work in the morning, sometimes I gotta wonder if I should have put on my peace shoes or my shoes to match my sword, breastplate, helmet…Sometimes I need both at the same time!