“Make every
effort to live at peace with all men and to be holy” (Hebrews 12:14).
The
temptation when reading a verse like this is to separate it into two parts and
then to focus on the part that we like the best. That, however, would be a huge mistake.
For
example, if I focus only on the “live at peace with all men” part, then I am
tempted to measure my success by avoiding conflict. If that is my goal, then all I have to do is
agree with everything that anyone else says or does. As long as I do not contradict their
thoughts, values or actions I can live at peace with just about anyone. Who will fight with you if you simply let
them do whatever they want?
The problem
here though is that you do not have real peace.
All you have is a lack of aggression.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once pointed out that most people “prefer a
negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the
presence of justice”. In other words,
sometimes the worst thing you can do is just “duck your head” and not get
involved. An overemphasis on “getting
along” may mean that we do not stand up for truth or make a difference when we
see something that really does need to be corrected. You may not be fighting with anyone, but
nothing changes for the better either.
On the
other hand, if I focus solely on the “be holy” part, then I have another set of
problems. “Be holy” easily descends into
being “Holier than thou”. If my goal is
to speak the truth, whether you like it or not, then I am likely going to find
myself standing alone. This position
also works against the greater good because, even if I am right, my approach
makes it so that no one wants to listen to me. No one is helped by a “judgmental know-it-all”.
What makes
this verse both important and instructive is the fact that it says that we are
to “make every effort” to do both parts. I have to learn to respect God enough that
holy things are really important to me.
However, I have to respect people enough that I care about how they hear
the things that I am saying.
According
to Jesus, the greatest the commandment was to love God and to love people
(Matthew 22:37-39). One or the other on
its own is not good enough.
Suddenly,
that little verse at the top of the page just got a lot more challenging.
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