I think Donald Trump is the worst president the United States has ever had. I don’t refer to him by name, only by the number 45.
I just made half of you really angry.
I think Donald Trump is one of the best presidents the United States has ever had. Right up there with Washington and Lincoln.
There, the other half is outraged now as well.
The truth is I don’t think either one of those statements are true. But that’s not the point. The point is that we as a people love to be outraged. And not just about our president. We live in a time where people want to be outraged about everything, from the leader of the free world’s twitter account to the color of this years Starbucks christmas cup. We live in an age of outrage.
Outrage is common.
Peacemakers are rare.
Ironically everyone says they want peace, but no one wants to make peace. What’s more, no one wants to be a peacemaker.
Being a peacemaker is difficult
Being a peacemaker doesn’t get you any attention on Facebook. Being a peacemaker doesn’t get you any coverage by CNN. Being a peacemaker doesn’t get you an op-ed in the LA Times.
Being a peacemaker is difficult. Being a peacemaker requires selflessness and patience. Traits that are rare in today’s world. Traits that remind you of a higher calling. Maybe that’s why Jesus said peacemakers would be called the children of God.
Being a peacemaker means you don’t buy into the extremes
People who like to be outraged find ways to be so. A peacemaker does not. That doesn’t mean a peacemaker never gets passionate or doesn’t care about righting wrongs. They do. But peacemakers think for themselves and don’t buy into the extremes that others use as fuel for their outrage.
For example, the people who hate our president for being a philanderer are the same ones who defended a previous president who used his position of power to have an affair that wrecked the life of a nineteen-year-old intern. And the same people who currently excuse the low moral character of our current leader are the same ones who bemoaned the lack of character of previous leaders.
A peacemaker doesn’t ignore evil or dismiss wrong. Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean you accept moral failure as normal. But it does mean that you look past all the outrage to see what is really going on. It means you think for yourself and you determine how much peace to bring into a situation.
Being a peacemaker means you carry peace with you
A peacemaker carries peace inside. That peace spills over when they are around other people. To be a peacemaker you have to carry peace with you. You bring peace into a situation without peace. The ironic thing is that lots of people want peace, but very few people have peace.
Peacemakers aren’t weak or soft. In fact it’s true that sometimes to secure peace you have to prepare for war. But a peacemaker is one who is at peace even in the midst of conflict.
Being a peacemaker is an inside job
Peacemakers have traits that make peace easier for them than it is for the rest of us. If you look closely enough at the peacemakers you know, you might spot a few common themes.
- To have outer peace you must have inner peace. People without peace cannot be peacemakers. This is common sense. To make peace you must have peace. That is why many people who claim to want world peace seem to be working against that very thing. How can someone without inner peace bring outer peace?
- To have peace you must have hope. Peacemakers have something beyond this crazy world to look forward to. They draw their peace from a higher plane. Peacemakers have the hope of another place that helps them bring peace into this anti-peaceful place.
- To have peace you must have a purpose. Peacemakers have a purpose that drives them. They draw from this purpose and it allows them to bring the peace of a higher purpose into the world around them.
- To have peace you must have more than peace. Peace is like happiness; the more you seek it the more elusive it seems to be. To be a peacemaker you need to seek more than peace. You need to seek a higher purpose. You need to seek a higher power. Peace will be a wonderful byproduct of the search.
- To have peace you must have less outrage. Outrage is easy. Peace is not. But let me ask you a question: Which do you think is more needed in our world right now, outrage or peace?
