Living in Peace

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

LIVING IN PEACE

Prov 16:7

7 When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

NIV

We certainly have seen all throughout the history of the children of Israel the truth of this statement. Every time their ways were not pleasing to God their enemies attacked and carried them off in captivity. This was a recurring event over and over again. It seemed their never learned this lesson. It seems they still have not learned it in this modern era as the Israelis, in general, do not serve God in the manner he desires them to, and thus their enemies still do not live in peace with them. As far as our personal lives, we may not have actually enemies who are out to capture us and carry us off as slaves, except of course Satan, who tries his best to do just that. However we do have people in this world that could make our lives difficult just because they oppose our personality, our views, our faith, or some other aspect of our lives. This truth would imply that if we spend out effects living in a way that would please God, rather then please the world, we would enjoy a peaceful life, without strife, without tension, without conflict or any of the other negative interactions that could occur. We are told to make every effort to live in peace with all men. This could be interpreted as trying to appease them, not rocking the boat, so to speak, never giving them any cause to hate us, dislike us, or have other ill feeling which would cause them to not live in peace with us. But it would seem them way to have all others live in peace with us, is not by appeasing them, but by pleasing God. This of course would require living in such a manner that it would be difficult if not impossible for others to do anything but live in peace with us. If we live to please God then we are living a life of love, which effects how we treat all others. It seems a rather basic concept, yet there still lies within each of us the struggle against self. When we attempt to please self rather than God, we may not be living in peace with our enemies. When we live to please God, we can truly live in peace.