Pursue Peace

We are getting into deer season here in the Upstate, and I know that has made people happy. I’m not much of a hunter (translation: I have never been hunting), but my huntin’ friends have spent the last several weeks gearing up. Even prior to bow season they have been setting up cameras and checking footage, scouting areas for evidence, doing anything to get a beat on the behavior patterns of their prey.

Peter used a hunting term in his first epistle, telling Christians to, “seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter 3:11).” He was quoting from Psalm 34:14, so the idea was familiar to his audience. The word for pursue was a word understood to be associated with hunters; just as a gamesman pursues his prize, so we are to pursue peace.

It is important, then, that we understand what peace is. It is a synonym of tranquility, a way of living in harmony with other people. We are to actively pursue peace, to hunt harmony. How have you been doing with that?

Two big issues come to my mind. First is the removal of statues and monuments and the renaming of landmarks and streets; the other is professional athletes kneeling down during the national anthem. There are many strong opinions about these issues, and I certainly have my own. We can have conversations about them, but when they turn into arguments and lines get drawn in the sand, we are not pursuing peace. Remember, Jesus said that the peacemakers would be blessed

Pursuing peace doesn’t mean we compromise, it just means we know when to bite our tongue. Proverbs 29:11 says, “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” In the long run, seeking peace is a better prize than winning the argument. So let us actively pursue peace like a skilled hunter tracking a ten-point buck. It isn’t something you can mount above the mantle, but it is something I don’t want to live without.