Finding Peace in an Angry, Hostile World

Do you remember the “olden days” when televised beauty pageants like Miss America and Miss Universe were a big deal, eagerly anticipated from one year to the next? Lovely young contestants would smile into the camera and declare that if they won the title, they would be to promote vegetables in a blender? You know – whirled peas?

Okay, what they actually said was “world peace.” But that idyllic global condition remains as elusive today as it was back then. Anger, hostility and animosity seem as pervasive as ever. The only things “united” about the USA these days are contiguous geographic borders. We’re divided politically, ideologically, philosophically, and just about every other possible way. We can’t even have civil conversations about the weather anymore.

Around the globe, dreams of peace are just that – dreams. Meanwhile we have nightmares about the economy, major health issues, social strife, what’s going on with nature, and the threat of war is ever-present. Where in the world can we find this ideal called world peace?

 

It might sound pessimistic, but the chances of our seeing true, lasting global peace are about as likely as a grasshopper flying to the moon. Human conflict is as old as recorded history. In Genesis 4:1-16, we read the tragic tale of Cain and Abel, first sons of Adam and Eve. In an act of jealousy and anger, the elder Cain killed his younger brother Abel, then lied to God in a foolish attempt to conceal his heinous crime. War and violent conflict, whether between individuals or nations, has continued ever since.

 

Does that mean peace is impossible, that it’s a hopeless pursuit? In one respect, the answer is probably yes. Sorry to disappoint the Pollyannas among us, but our world is riddled by something the Bible calls sin. As a result, there will always be a desire by many to control, coerce and conquer. I’ve cited the passage before, but Romans 3:10-18 sums it up well: 

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God…. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

 

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue peace, to employ every possible means to achieve reconciliation among peoples. But the key phrase above, I believe, is “no fear of God before their eyes.” Because He is the only real peacemaker and when we fail to look to Him, peace remains far beyond our grasp.

 

However, we are offered – even promised – peace, even if it’s not on a global scale. I love the promise from Isaiah 26:3, “You [the Lord] will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.” Through our relationship with God, we can experience inner peace when everything around us, both near and far, is plunging into chaos.

 

Speaking to His closest followers, Jesus offered this assurance as He anticipated His death on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

 

Writing to encourage followers of Christ in ancient Rome, the apostle Paul reminded them of where they needed to direct their thoughts, despite opposition and many trials to test their faith. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

 

Over the past two years we’ve been bombarded with reasons to fear, foremost being the COVID-19 pandemic, creating unprecedented levels of anxiety. “What will happen if I get the virus? Will I die?” many have wondered, panic resonating in their voices. How can we experience enduring peace when it seems as if the specter of death is chasing after us?

 

Jesus offered assurances for circumstances like this. Knowing His disciples would confront the pain of His absence after being with Him night and day for three years, He told them, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 

Whether in good times or bad, in excellent health or nearing the moment of death, God’s peace is available to each one of us. All we need to do is ask. Then we can claim the blessing He gave thousands of years ago to His chosen people of Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you his peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Blessings, Curses, and How to Tell the Difference

If we could to transport ourselves to the time of the ancient Israelites and observe their lives and behavior, I suspect it would seem like riding a rollercoaster: breathtaking heights of zeal, devotion and obedience to God, followed by terrifying plunges of apathy, rebellion and disobedience. Perhaps the Lord might have felt like He was plucking petals off a flower, one by one – “they love Me, they love Me not, they love Me, they love Me not….” 

 

Recently a friend and I were discussing blessings and curses. He’d been reading some of the Old Testament narratives about good and evil Israelite kings and God’s response to their obedience and disobedience. For instance, in Deuteronomy 11:26-28 we read, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from the way I command you today….”

 

After the people of Israel arrived in the Promised Land after wandering 40 years in the wilderness, their leader Joshua determined it was time to renew the covenant they had made with the Lord many years before. He reminded them of God’s promises and admonitions: “Joshua read all the words of the law – the blessings and the curses – just as it is written in the Book of the Law” (Joshua 8:34).

 

Experience had taught the Israelites that if they did right, they’d get rewarded. But if they did wrong, they’d incur God’s punishment. Classic cause and effect. The New Testament, however, offers a shift in perspective and teaching. Rather than getting what we deserve, we’re told God in His grace offers us what we don’t deserve – forgiveness for our sins, salvation and eternal life. 

 

Romans 3:10 asserts, “There is no one righteous, not even one…there is no one who does good, not even one.” At times in reading this, I’ve wondered, “Is this about politicians?” But it clearly applies to everyone. So our hope of gaining God’s love and acceptance on the basis of merit flies out the window. Instead, we cling by faith to the assurance we read a bit later: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

 

Which brings us back to the subject of blessings and curses. Since the Lord has basically declared every last one of us a rebellious, disobedient mess, how can we expect His blessings? At the same time, since we often seem to forget about Him altogether, why aren’t we cursed more?

Maybe we need to re-examine our thinking about blessings and curses. Surely if we do right, we’re more likely to receive some kind of reward. And if we do wrong, we’ll likely encounter consequences. But many times, whether something is a blessing or a curse can depend on our response to it.

 

Years ago I had the opportunity – and blessing – to interview Joni Eareckson Tada who, despite being a quadriplegic, has achieved much-deserved acclaim as an author, speaker, artist and singer. She recounted her story of how as a teenager she became injured after unsuspectingly diving into a shallow lake. Her neck was broken instantly, leaving her paralyzed from the shoulders down. 

 

We could view that as a curse, in the blink of an eye going from a healthy, active teenager to one without the use of any of her limbs. And in her writings Joni tells how she struggled initially with the prospect of spending the rest of her life in that condition. She describes her despair and hopelessness. Who could blame her, right?

 

In retrospect, however, she admitted, “I shudder to think about what my life would have been like if I HAD NOT become paralyzed.” What? A blessing, not a curse? 

 

Joni explained that after the initial shock and grief, her injury gave her no recourse but to trust in the Lord for everything she would need. At the same time, she was able to refocus and develop her considerable creative talents to tell her story of faith, inspiring others and giving glory to God, showing how He can use even the worst circumstances for His good. 

 

What could have been a curse for Joni, had she responded the wrong way with self-pity and anger, turned into a blessing beyond anything she could have imagined. She’s had numerous triumphs and trials over the years since, but remains an example of the great promise in Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

 

On the other hand, the Scriptures offer some examples of individuals who seemingly were very blessed materially, but when those things took their focus off of the Lord, they became curses.

 

One was King Solomon of Israel. In succeeding his father, King David, he was a model of humility. When God visited him in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you,” the new king replied, “Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:5-9).

 

Asking for wisdom – that’s the kind of ruler we’d all like to follow. But starting well doesn’t guarantee finishing well, as Solomon sadly proved. He became consumed with riches, military might, and the many wives and concubines he had accumulated – all contrary to God’s expressed commands. By the end of his life, these “blessings” had turned into curses:

“The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel…. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command” (1 Kings 11:9-10).

 

These are lessons for all of us. We might look around at our material possessions and think, “What a blessing!” But beware: If they take our eyes off the Lord, they could become a curse. Conversely, our present hardships – which might seem like curses – could turn into unimaginable blessings. Sometimes it’s all in how we look at our circumstances – and respond to them. 

Like TV Shows, Now All of Us Can Get Cancelled

This is the time of year when we learn about TV shows being cancelled. With so many options available to us these days, some of the programs getting the axe we’ve never even heard of. Sometimes when a show’s being terminated, we think, “How can they do that? I really like that one!” Well it seems we too can be cancelled!

 

They call it “cancel culture” – people determining what’s acceptable and what’s offensive. If we say or do something that’s deemed offensive, we run the risk of being cancelled. Take some recent, high-profile examples: The Muppets, for supposed stereotyping by their puppet “people.” And Dr. Seuss, for his rhyming characters. In fact,  I’ve heard the classic “Green Eggs and Ham” could be cancelled as being offensive to eggs of color. 

And then there’s the kid favorite, Mr. Potato Head. Another victim of the gender identity police. As someone has said, when we start fretting over the gender of a plastic potato, our society is in grave danger. We’re going from the ridiculous to the absurd, it seems, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. (I hope lettuce doesn’t get cancelled!)

 

Actress Gina Carano, who starred of the hit Disney+ show, “The Mandalorian,” was recently fired and dropped by her talent agency for daring to criticize the “woke” Hollywood culture. But she’s in good company. None other than George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and other icons from history have also incurred cancel culture’s wrath. 

 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re dead or alive, if your wrong was done yesterday or decades ago, or even if it was unintended, said or written out of impulse or ignorance and not from malice. If the “authorities” deem it to be so, you’re cancelled.

 

Which made me start wondering what God might think about all this. How does He feel about all this cancelling? Thankfully, we can turn to the Scriptures and find some solid answers. For starters, we find the admonition Jesus Christ gave during His ‘sermon on the mount.’ He cautioned, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). This is a verse often used by non-believers as well as those who follow Jesus. 

 

In the next verse, however, Jesus elaborates: “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” He’s not only teaching we’re not to pass judgment on others, but we’re also to recognize that when we judge – or even “cancel” others – we run the risk of being judged, or cancelled, ourselves.

 

How do we know this? Because in the gospel of John, we read about the Lord being confronted by religious leaders. They demanded that He give His view of a woman caught in the act of adultery. The law at that time was for the offender to be stoned to death. (They took cancelling very literally.) In response, after bending down to write something on the ground with His finger – no one knows for certain what that was – Jesus said to them, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

 

As His words sunk in, one by one the leaders put down their stones and walked away. Reluctantly, in their self-righteous anger, they had to admit they each were every bit the sinner, in their own ways, as was the woman accused. Not that Jesus exonerated the woman. After everyone else had left, He asked, “‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘God now and leave your life of sin’” (John 8:3-11).

 

Fast-forwarding to today, each of us who is so eager to cancel someone else – for whatever reason – stands just as guilty before God. As it says in Psalm 53:2-3, “God looks down from heaven to the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away, together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” 

 

For emphasis, we find similar wording in Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless, there is no one who does good, not even one.”

 

Based on those passages, we could easily conclude that if anyone’s to do any cancelling, it should be the Lord. Compared to a holy, all-righteous God, not one of us comes close to measuring up. But the Gospel is literally “good news,” and the best news of all is God is not concerned about cancelling. Romans 5:8 assures, “but God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Long before any of us had an opportunity to even think about committing cancellable behavior, He had already provided the means for forgiveness, redemption and reconciliation. God has even made provision for regeneration, a fresh start: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

If we’re honest enough, every one of us can find something – probably lots of things – that we regret and would undo if we could. It’s reassuring to know that even if the cancel culture cops were to come after us, because of what Christ has already done on our behalf, we need not fear that from God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Your favorite TV show might get the axe, but in Christ we never will.