War is a Scary Thing!
By Jason Arnold
War is a scary thing! There is no need to explain all the reasons that is a true statement. The earliest history of our world saw wars that led to bloodshed. Rulers and kings invaded other lands in order to overtake the occupants of that land. Sometimes there were justifiable reasons, and sometimes there were not.
Our country has only enjoyed 16 years (some argue 17-18 years) of peace during her almost 246-year existence. Even in those “peaceful” years, there was strife among the citizens of the USA. So even though there might not have been a war being fought somewhere in the world, there were battles being waged on the streets of our country.
A little closer to home, there are battles waging in our communities. It seems like school board meetings, city council meetings and the like are more war-like than civil.
As our world gets larger, and our access to instantaneous information increases, we have the ability to “choose sides” in a battle rather quickly. Romans 12:18 reminds us that it is incumbent upon us to live at peace with those around us. We can choose to be at “war” with those around us, or we can choose to be at peace. Notice what the passage doesn’t say. We are not to only live at peace when everyone else treats us properly. We are not to only live at peace when others show us the respect we think we deserve. We are not to only live at peace when we get our way. If we are waiting for others’ actions to bring us peace, then we are looking in the wrong direction. Romans 12:18 says that peace is incumbent upon us.
James 1:19 is a great reminder to consider before we “choose sides” on the next headline that is published. In this verse, everyone is reminded to be quick to hear (can you learn anything through talking?), slow to speak (you can learn a lot more through listening!) and slow to anger (even though you might be justified in your anger.)
War, be it international or interpersonal, is scary. As we travel this course together, Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 13:35 are still true today:
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Author Bio
Jason is husband to Kim and father to Nolan and their yellow labs, Daisy and Mabel. He gets his kicks watching baseball, talking about and working on cars, fishing and reading business articles and books. He was called to ministry out of the "real world" of finance in 2007. Since then, he's completed a master and doctorate degrees and hopes to never write another paper again. He has served as Executive Pastor of Inside-the-Walls Ministry since 2013.