The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, by Ken Sande, is a balanced, helpful handbook for our relationships as Christians and for our body life as a church.
As we seek to speak truth and follow Jesus faithfully in a world of spin and lies, Sande can help us. Here are a few practical insights from the ch. 5, “Examine Yourself” (2nd edition):
- Humility is square one: “Until we have dealt with our faults, it will be difficult to help others see how they have contributed to a dispute” (p. 91). Can we see the log in our own eye?
- Sande warns that sinful speech takes many forms, such as: reckless words (beware of blurting); grumbling (which ruins thanks); falsehood (this includes exaggeration, half-truth, distortion); gossip (“A gossip separates close friends,” Prov. 26:20); slander; and worthless talk (i.e., words that benefit no one). If you indulge in sinful speech, “your character will be eroded and your relationship with God will suffer” (pp. 94-97).
- On the positive side, the importance of keeping your word is stressed. Such faithfulness imparts a precious legacy to one’s descendants. By contrast, “A great deal of conflict is the direct result of someone’s failure to keep a commitment” (p. 98).
- Apply the Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matt. 7:12). Would you want people talking about you the way you talk about them? If not, take it to the Lord and repent, or things will only get worse (pp. 100-101).
- Check your motives: What desires are revealed by the way you talk? Maybe pride, greed, or “fear of man”? Ask God to search your heart for any self-serving longings (pp. 101-104).
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt 5:9). And so, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). And peace isn’t just the absence of hostility, but for the Christian it means a humble, joyful, God-honoring life together!
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