Peace Within and Peace With Others

           Peace With People

Mark 9:50 “…have peace with one another.”
Romans 12:18 ^“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men”
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all people…”

In order to have peace with people, we must revisit the “Love Chapter” which is 1 Corinthians 13, specifically verses 4-7:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up. Does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Here is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 from the Message translation:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Peace with people requires love. We must love God, love people, and love ourselves. We demonstrate this love by taking the form of a servant rather than a master.
(See Mark 9:35 “…If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”) We

humble ourselves, not forcing our opinions on others, nor despising the other’s opinions. Peace demands that we leave vengeance to God, who will right all wrongs in His time.

Romans 12:19 “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
It’s not our job to “set the record straight” or fight for what we think rightfully belongs to us. Unfortunately, the church is full of examples of the absence of peace. It’s not our job to judge the world; we’d do better to make sure that we as individuals are walking in a way that reflects the Holy Spirit. It is absolutely necessary that we forgive when we feel that we’ve been wronged. It is absolutely necessary that we refuse to find a scapegoat when things don’t go our way. There are things in life that aren’t going to go our way. Sometimes it’s our own fault and sometimes it is someone else’s fault. But in that case, we have to forgive them (and forgive ourselves) and move on.


The passage in Galatians 5 that describe the fruit of the spirit, begins with what is not of the spirit but of the “flesh” Note that although these verses speak of many things including sexual immorality and even murder, the emphasis is on the fact that these “works of the flesh” are the polar opposites of the Fruit of the Spirit listed in verses 22 and 23. This list in verses 19-21 includes hatred, contentions outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and dissentions. Galatians 5 concludes with

“Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

We’re to pursue peace, seek it, look for it, and find a way to maintain inner contentment and peace with other people. Obviously, if I’ve been working on controlling my temper, forgiving others of real or perceived injustices, refusing to hold a grudge, I can accomplish a certain amount of peace in my relationships with others. Romans 12:18 says “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

This verse indicates that there are times when it’s not possible and there are times that the situation doesn’t depend on just my own peaceful state. As good as the word “peace” sounds, it could end up being unattained, or perhaps attained in an unpeaceful way. When we see someone being taken advantage of, are we to ignore it just for the sake of peace? Peace is a fruit of the Spirit listed with love and goodness. Sometimes we actually have to work to ensure goodness for others. There’s a slogan often used in civil protests that says, “No justice, No peace.” There is no peace for a given society if portions of the society fell their rights are trampled upon. Remember what God said to His people:

Isaiah 58:6-7:

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?       
The people were so proud of themselves, bragging that they have observed their “fasts.”They followed a religious “practice” of abstaining from food for a period of time. God responded that the kind of “fast” He wants is for us to free those that are unjustly imprisoned, provide the poor with food, clothing housing and opportunities. In other words, He wants us to share. He wants us to treat people right. He gave us His peace when He gave us His own Son. We can spread His peace to others when we act in true justice.