Time For the Peacemakers

In Ephesians 4, we are exhorted that because we are new people in Christ, putting off the old and
putting on the new...
25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.
26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.

I think you can gather there that allowing anger to fester is a means of giving place to the devil.  The Bible cautions us against allowing a root of bitterness to grow.  In our culture today, we are seeing manifold roots of bitterness, that are consuming the hearts of people and overflowing, resulting in tension and conflict.  People are feeling a lack of hope, and they want better lives, as well as a sense of understanding and even justice.  God's Word can provide the hope we need and can fine-tune our perspective as we recognize the power that it has to show people how to behave toward one another.

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Paul encourages believers to stand on the firm foundation of Biblical truth, which can be an anchor in the unsettled times in which we live. He writes in 2nd Thessalonians 2:
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,
17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

So, let me ask you - how does it make you feel?

To see protesters in the streets and inside an arena where a candidate for President of the United States was about to speak.  To hear reports of police with pepper spray to control a crowd outside a rally in another major city.  To see a candidate attacked by a protester as he was about to speak.  Is this America?

In Brazil, they're flooding the streets protesting.  The Guardian reports that, "More than a million Brazilians have joined anti-government rallies across the country, ramping up the pressure on embattled president Dilma Rousseff."

Is this democracy in action?  Or is something else going on here?   Is that a glimpse into the future of where we are headed in America, where people are taking to the streets to make their voices heard and perhaps responding or reacting in what could be termed "violent" ways?

Over at the American Conservative, Rod Dreher writes:

What happened tonight in Chicago is why we need Trump, as obnoxious as he is, to keep going. I am not a Trump supporter, and I reject much of his rhetoric. But he has a right to give a speech, even an obnoxious speech, without it being interrupted by demonstrators. All of us do. Trump is revealing how impossible it is to have a normal democracy with the activist left, who think their crying need for “safe spaces” gives them the right to silence their opponents.

But after the Sunday morning shows, Dreher, while after the cancelling of the Friday rally in Chicago had been a bit more sympathetic toward Trump, wrote in another column:

The bonds of mutual affection that should hold our country together are a lot thinner than people think. Donald Trump isn’t strengthening them. Neither are his enemies. After Trump’s performance on the Sunday talk shows yesterday, I am less sympathetic to him than I was after his rally was shut down by the SJWs.

The SJWs are the "Social Justice Warriors," and earlier in the Monday column, he was critical of their activities:

What is awfully hard to take is folks on the left denouncing Trump’s implicit and explicit violence and illiberalism, when they have been silent when SJWs have done the exact same thing, over and over, on campuses around the nation.

He had referred to liberal writer Jonathan Chait, saying:

Chait is right: either we have a country in which people are reasonably free to speak their minds on political matters, or we don’t. If we cannot or will not recognize and defend that right for everybody, then what kind of country is this? On the other hand, if people exercise that right irresponsibly, by inciting violence, it brings the law and the constitutional framework into which it fits into disrepute.

On the Townhall.com website, you can read these words from author and talk-show host Dr. Michael Brown, who offered three statements about recent events at Donald Trump rallies;

First, anyone attempting to attack Trump supporters, let alone trying to attack Trump directly, is completely wrong and without any justification.

Second, the protesters that shut down the Friday night Trump rally in Chicago were not just anti-Trump. It appears that many of them were ultra-liberal and would be no friends of the conservative movement as a whole.

Third, Trump bears some responsibility for these outbreaks because of his inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric.

Freedom of assembly and freedom to even engage in peaceful protests are hallmarks of the American democracy.   I think back to the civil rights movement and how so many people who were searching for freedom would speak out, peacefully assemble, and even take to the streets, with the ultimate aim of justice.  But, our civil rights heroes were certainly not protesting for the sake of being divisive - they had a plan, a purpose, an aim, even a sense of a higher calling.  In our society today, those who protest just to disrupt do little more than fan the flames of disunity and create a less orderly society.

Unfortunately, the controversy over what has happened this weekend has degenerated into a "blame Trump" or "blame the protesters" discussion.  There is certainly plenty of blame to go around, but I think it's important that we really get a sense of what is going on here.  And, it is not my position to endorse a candidate or tell someone how to vote.  But, we are seeing that the level of discourse has deteriorated, and even if you like Trump or support him for his ideas of his "tell it like it is" style, still I believe you have to be concerned that we have Americans who are pitted against each other.  This Presidential race is being carried out in that atmosphere.  But, admittedly, there is a deep sense of anger that is permeating our society, and it's time for the peacemakers to step up.

As Christians, we are called to be the peacemakers, and I believe we can possess the right temperament in order to diffuse situations.  So, in a divided America, one of the first things we can do is pray.  As temperatures and tempers rise during what could be a long, hot summer in the political process, we need to pray for peace.

And, we can start in our communities, in our neighborhoods - we can meet anger with peace.  There does seem to be enough anger to go around - there are economic frustrations, compounded by a sense that our American system, our constitutional form of government, is under assault.   John Adams said the Constitution was made for a moral and religious people - so when there people have departed from the strong moral and spiritual foundation upon which this nation was founded, what happens next?   I don't know, but I will say that we don't disregard the time-honored principles of our Constitution which has served us well for over two centuries - we should really double-down on it and elect leaders who are intent on preserving it.

So, another action step is to take part in the political process - if you're in Florida and haven't done so already, go vote today.  Continue to be a good, engaged citizen. No matter who you support, be the best supporter you can be - but let policy dictate your behavior, not emotion.  Enthusiastically support your candidate of choice, but with civility in the course of politically-oriented conversation.  And, I think we do well to pray for and engage our leaders when they are adrift.

Finally, I think in the midst of turmoil, we can check our own hearts - we can ask: are we consumed with anger, frustration, fear, or the temptation to lash out at others?  I think even Christians can get caught up in the angry discourse and develop a bitter perspective regarding matters of policy.  We are called to reflect the character of Christ, and I think turning down the volume can be helpful - to the extent that we listen to one another and develop a servant's spirit toward other people.