Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
The literal definition of ‘peacemaker’ is: one who makes peace especially by reconciling parties at variance
When someone mentions being a peacemaker, some automatically think of the problems in the world today and how there is no way we can have an effect on them. To be peacemakers, we do not need to go around trying to solve all the world’s problems and conflicts. There are way too many out there for any one person to resolve. But if we each try to live our lives in a way that brings peace to other people’s lives, we can be peacemakers and have an indirect influence on the peace of the world. It can be something small, like not telling someone they are annoying. If someone is doing something that is really annoying you, tell them tactfully and kindly, but if it’s just their personality and the way they are, well, sometimes you just have to suck it up and deal with it. There are all sort of varying personalities in the world and we’re not going to get along or like all of them. The simplest way we can go about being a peacemaker is to just accept people’s differences and move on.
Other ways we can be peacemakers is to do as Jesus did and turn the other cheek when someone is being mean or unkind. Sometimes our first reaction is to be mad back at the person, but all that does is exacerbate things. If we react with patience and restraint, we can de-escalate a potentially volatile situation, thereby bringing about peace.
When it comes to bigger things, it’s sometimes a bit more of a challenge. If someone is going out of their way to be antagonistic or make things difficult, it can sometimes be hard to take it. We can be peacemaker’s by being kind to those who are discourteous to us and treat them the way we wish they would treat us. Things don’t always change, but in my experience they sometimes do. If approaching the person to talk about the situation and try to come to a resolution doesn’t work, sometimes all you can do is accept what it is and be sure your actions reflect how the Savior would behave. It can be hard, but it is worth it.
When I think of other simple ways we can be peacemakers, I can’t help but think about traffic. My boyfriend gets pretty upset in bad traffic, as do a lot of people. If we make a conscious effort to be more peaceable when we drive, think about how many traffic situations we could prevent. We can’t affect how the other drivers feel, but if we change our actions, we can help influence others. Things we can do include: not retaliating when others cut us off, not driving aggressively when we are in a hurry or a bad mood, not yelling or making gestures at other drivers, not honking our horns repeatedly in stalled or slow traffic and moving our cars out of the way when a car is being aggressive or antagonistic to us, among other things. I can tell you that when I’m stressed and traffic is bad, it makes my stress worse, but the moment someone slows down to let me change lanes or waves in apology when they cut me off, I feel less stressed. So, our actions definitely can bring peace to others even when it doesn’t seem like it.
For us to be peacemakers in our own homes, it helps if we listen to each other, talk about contentions that we have, try to find fair compromises for things we disagree about, work together to find harmony, read scriptures daily, pray for help in bringing peace into our homes, work to control our tempers, let go of the little things, forgive each other for our faults and work to over come our own faults.
While there are times we will be called upon to be peacemakers on a bigger scale (breaking up fights, standing up for someone who is less able to, going against our friends when they are not acting in a Christ-like manner), the more important times of being a peacemaker are the small ones. For if we cannot prove to do well in small things, how much harder will it be for us to do the right thing when a bigger situation arises?
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