City of Poughkeepsie Police Chief Thomas Pape kneels with protestor Olivia Mima-Canada while on the Mid-Hudson Bridge during the Stop the Violence We Can't Breathe Protest in Highland on June 2, 2020.

Abandon Conflict And Think In Terms of Harmony

by Eric Elkin

“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.”

— 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 (The Message)

If there is a God, why is there no peace? One would think an all-powerful God who orders our days and deeds could establish lasting peace? Critics of religion cite a litany of views about why God is an improbable reality. Most of their arguments seem more like an opinion than proof. The absence of peace, though, is the one I find hardest to refute.

The argument gets especially tricky when considering Jesus. If Jesus is the Messiah, the prince of peace who died for the sins of the world, then why is there no peace? Why do the sins of the world keep dominating our world?

The protests this past week provided an excellent example. We are told, with just cause, people are angry and fed up. Some demonstrations were violent. Yet, even when they were peaceful, those who marched were angry. Many who stayed at home criticizing the marches were just as mad as those walking. We can curb violent behavior, but the anger takes longer to go away.

I’ve heard people say they want to do something. Yet, I wonder what they mean. How far are they willing to go? Marching calls attention to a problem. It does not solve it. Problem-solving on such a mass scale is going to be a long and challenging journey. Are we prepared to take that long of a march?

“The ultimate goal is to have a department where the community trusts us, where we are looked upon as being legitimate, where we are looked at as being guardians of our community and one with our community...That is the direction I plan to lead.”

— Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo

To create peace in our culture, we need to ensure a just and fair legal system. Obviously, we need to address police brutality. However, we need to do it in a way that does not make the police more vulnerable. We need to teach people that civic responsibility is equally important as their individual freedom. Then there are issues related to education, employment, and healthcare.

The most difficult will be addressing our natural inclination to bigotry. This is a condition not limited to race relations. Bigotry is the intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from us. This feels like our new national sin.

In my experience, conflict is where Christ becomes most visible. While we thrive on conflict, we also get tired of it. Hatred is more exhausting than most people realize. If you were paying attention to the protests this week, you learned a valuable lesson.

The more violent protestors acted, the more forceful was the police response. The more violent the police responded to peaceful protests, the more violent and chaotic it became. Then some took a different approach.

Police, at a growing number of protests, started taking a knee without compromising their safety. Some other officers greeted protestors with a holy embrace. Still, others listened to the concerns of those protesting. Funny, none of these protests became violent.

Today, if you are exhausted from anger, consider a different approach. Greet the new day with your spirits up. Try to abandon conflict and think in terms of harmony. Be agreeable and greet each other with a holy embrace. Even if that embrace if figurative. If you do these things, the God peace will be visible to all.

Click to read 2 Corinthians 13: 5-14