The Gospel of Peace
The Gospel of Peace
By
Gary Primo
Rom. 10:15 - And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
The Gospel of Yahushua is also known as the Gospel of peace. In this study I plan to examine what all is meant by this term. Of course, the usual things come to mind at the hearing of this term. There is to be peace amongst all True Believers. There is also to be a state of peace to be practiced with our enemies. We are also to work out our peace with Yahuwah. There are friends (outside the faith), relatives (antagonistic because of your new-found faith) and coworkers. We are in training to become Elohim everyday of our walk with Yahushua. If Yahuwah and Yahushua are the embodiment of love and peace, then that is what we are to be also. We must not merely “follow” Yahushua, we must become Yahushua; and in doing so, we also become Yahuwah. What do I mean by that? Simply claiming to be a follower of Yahushua is not enough to get anyone into the Kingdom. We must be doing our level best to become Yahushua in nature (mind, body and spirit). We must pursue this goal to the point that when anyone looks at us, they see Yahushua and Yahuwah.
When Yahushua walked the Earth, he was so much like the Father it was as if the Father himself was the one walking the Earth. Any good deeds shown toward the Son were also shown toward the Father. The same can be said of any evil perpetrated against the Son; it was also perpetrated against the Father. The Son was His spokesman. Everything He said and did came straight from the Father. Little did the persecutors of Yahushua know that they were persecuting the Elohim that they (at the same time) worshipped? What a paradox! What an exercise in futility! But then, the Jews have paid dearly for their treachery.
But what about us? While it is easy to point the finger at the Jews and declare them to be hypocrites, we must be especially careful not to become hypocrites ourselves. How can we become hypocrites? We can become hypocrites by professing to belong to Mashiyack and yet failing to be found striving with all out effort to become in all ways like Him.
Perhaps the best place to find a great deal of hypocrisy is in a church setting. While in the WCG, I saw a lot of it. The worst and most common offense was rampant gossip. Gossip (in my opinion) stems from one individual feeling that they are righteous and that the person being gossiped about, is not. They make themselves feel and look more righteous by pointing out the faults in others. And, as much as I hate to repeat myself, when we point the finger at others, we always have 3 fingers pointing back at us. We need to see to our own salvation before criticizing others.
Where is the peace (that surpasses all understanding) in such acts? As we all know, gossipers are usually eventually found out; and then they have the uncomfortable experience of apologising for their behaviour. Is it not better to not perform such action in the first place? It is certainly not an example of love and peace, which, as we will soon see, go hand in hand with righteousness.
So, let us begin this scriptural study, like I usually do, extracting all the verses that deal with the subject from the beginning of the OT to the end of the NT. Anyone has been reading my studies for a while will likely agree that this is the only method of gaining true understanding of any scriptural subject. It is a fact that scripture interprets scripture. Only harmony exists in the Scriptures. If one’s understanding of a single verse does not harmonize with all the other verses on the subject, then we must disqualify that understanding.
Ps 28:3 - Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
Liars, liars, liars! The world is full of liars. Whatever is in their hearts betrays their true nature. Predominantly, it is the nature of HaSatan that dwells inside of them. Like HaSatan, such like to present themselves as an “angel of light but are anything but.
Who can we really trust in this world? I can only think of two beings, the Father and the Son. In all else, as long as they yet have their human spirit in them, they have the potential to do evil. Our goal is to practice having good thoughts and doing good works. There is no law against either of these things. And, without them, we will never see the kingdom. My goal is to practise thinking and doing good until it becomes my very nature to do so, and even the thought to sin no longer dwells in me. This is how we become incorruptible, which we must become if we ever hope to make it into the Kingdom.
Ps 29:11 - Yahuwah will give strength unto his people; Yahuwah will bless his people with peace.
Yahuwah does indeed give us strength in our hour of need. Peace is one of the blessing that Yahuwah promises us for obedience. Yet, one can look at the example of the Apostles and wonder, “What peace did they have?” Did they all (except John) not die violent deaths and suffer imprisonment and frequent scourging? Our enemies will always be with us (or against us) in this life. Yet, we are to be found seeking to live at peace with them.
But there is someone else we must make peace with first – and that is Yahuwah. It was man who made the free will choice to deny Yahuwah and follow after HaSatan. And, as HaSatan is in a constant state of war against Yahuwah, so are we. That is, until conversion and baptism. Baptism should be considered as a contract and as a peace treaty between us and Yahuwah. Our part of the contract is that we strive from that point on to believe and put into play all the attributes of Yahushua (the Son) and to be every bit as righteous as He was. And if we are as righteous as He, we will also share the same righteousness with the Father. We will become what He always purposed us to be – a full elohim being.
Ps 34:14 - Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
“Depart from evil” – Evil comes in many forms. Before we can depart from evil, we must fully understand and recognise all things that constitute evil. The 10 Commandments only spell out the most heinous of crimes. The rest of the 613 laws explain to us how we are to keep them. For example, the commandment to honour our mother and father is pretty general. However, it is explained more fully in the ordinances that were given to Moses.
Ps 119:165 - Great peace have they which love your law: and nothing shall offend them.
Now, I am sure that everyone reading this is doing their utmost to receive and love Yahuwah’s laws. The world may condemn us, but Yahuwah will glorify us for following His instructions. I am also sure that we have faced off with some antagonistic individual who was doing their level best to offend and ridicule us. The initial reaction may be to punch the individual in the mouth, but we are not to do anything like that. We must simply use the Word of Elohim to answer them.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend and the woman who cleans his house just yesterday. They started putting down religion, and I couldn’t entirely disagree with them. Then the subject turned to the concept of Immaculate Conception. Both were poo pooing the idea. Then I brought up a recent discovery that was found by archeologist, Ron Wyatt. Ron found a chamber behind a burial tomb that sat right under the mount where Yahushua was crucified. In that chamber, Ron discovered the long-lost Arc of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. He also discovered the remains of Noah’s Ark, the exact point of the Red Sea crossing, the real Mt. Sinai and the location of Sodom and Gomorrah.
I copied and pasted some of the info from the following two sites.
https://www.josephprince.org/blog/daily-grace-inspirations/jesus-blood-is-on-the-mercy-seat
There were three items in the ark: the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod and two stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments (see Hebrews 9:4). These items are actually symbols of man’s rebellion. The golden pot of manna represents man’s rejection of God’s provision. The rod of Aaron represents man’s rejection of God’s leadership and the two stone tablets of God’s commandments represent man’s rejection of His standard of holiness.
But because God delights in mercy, He had these items put away in the ark and covered with the mercy seat, which had two cherubim on it (see Hebrews 9:5). And once a year, the high priest would enter the holy of holies where the ark was and sprinkle the blood of the animal sacrifice on the mercy seat. This means that God’s eyes, represented by the eyes of the cherubim, did not see the symbols of man’s rebellion. As long as the blood was there on the mercy seat, He saw only the blood and accepted the people.
https://anchorstone.com/christ-s-blood-on-the-mercy-seat-what-does-it-mean/
Shortly after the death of Ron Wyatt a few friends and I entered into a study in regard to the Ark of the Covenant. This study was initiated in response to the criticism that Ron’s finding of the blood of Jesus Christ on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant was not Biblical. I believe that the Lord shared with us some things that clearly answer that objection.
In the book of 1 Timothy 2:5,6 we read the following:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
It is important to notice the tense of the words of verse 6, “to be testified in due time”. This indicates that there was a “testimony” about something relating to Christ’s sacrifice that had not taken place at the time this was written. Historically we know that the first letter to Timothy was written many years after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, the Greek word that is translated “due time” in this verse means literally, “at the appropriate occasion”. This means that there was something about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for sinful man (the ransom) that at a later, more appropriate time, was going to be used as a testimony to the world. I believe that this testimony is the revealing of one of the many biblical archaeology discoveries of Ron Wyatt; specifically the Ark of the Covenant.
The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has been found on the Mercy Seat (the solid gold lid) of the Ark of the Covenant that once sat in the Most Holy Place of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. That Ark still contained the tables of stone on which God Himself inscribed the ten commandments (1 Kings 8:9). It was hidden in a cave chamber underneath the Calvary escarpment on or about 586 BC, just prior to the destruction of the old city of Jerusalem and the temple by the Babylonian army. That chamber was located directly under the spot where, approximately 615 years later, Jesus was crucified.
We read that when Jesus died at Calvary there was a great earthquake, that the “rocks were rent” (Matthew 27:50,51). The rending of that rock created a fissure that communicated between the top of the cross hole that held the cross of Jesus and the top of the cave chamber where the Ark of the Covenant was hidden. Shortly after His death (and the rending of the rock) a soldier stuck a spear into Jesus’ side to determine whether He was dead. When that happened, the apostle John records that blood and water flowed from His side.
For more info on Ron Wyatt, check out this site.
There is one more tid bit of information I just know everyone will be interested in. The blood found on the mercy seat was given a DNA test; and guess what they found? The DNA could find only one X chromosome, from the mother only. It did not contain a Y chromosome from the father’s side. As far as I am concerned this is proof of Immaculate Conception. The response from the friends I was talking with was, “That is very strange”. That is all they had to say. But who knows, perhaps that will be the spark that ignites their interest to pursue further information and a way of life that is pleasing to Yahuwah.
Pr 16:7 - When a man’s ways please Yahuwah, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
We have an entire planet full of enemies, folks. They hate and persecute us pretty much all the time. We have examples of this principal throughout the Scriptures, where certain men of Elohim gain special favour from their captors because of their relationship with Yahuwah. One example would be Daniel, another, Joseph. Both men would have likely been put to death if not for divine intervention.
Ec. 3:8 - A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Yes, there is a time when all of the above present themselves. We are to love Yahuwah’s ways and hate HaSatan’s. Sometimes we may have to fight to protect ourselves or our loved ones. Fortunately, we have known peace for the most part.
One fact that I observed while with the WCG was that there were a number of people in the group that were at first antagonistic towards their partners when they first joined the church. However, with continued love and by setting a good example, that spouse turned their partner completely around. Is it possible to perform such a feat with the entire world? It is doubtful, but that is what we have been called to do.
Isa 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 - Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Yahuwah of hosts will perform this.
There has been some argument that these verses are not talking about the Messiah being the Father from Jewish sources. In case you are aware of this argument, here is the original Hebrew.
Isa. 9:6 – That boy he is born, to us a son he is given, and she will become the chieftainship on the shoulder blade of him and he shall call the name of him one marvelous, one counseling, El, masterful father of future, Chief of well being.
7 – To increase of, to increase of, the chieftainship and well being, is no end on throne of David and over kingdom of him to establish a her and to brace of her in judgement and in justice from now and unto son seal of Yahuwah of hosts, she shall do this.
Well, it is easy to see why there might be some confusion. The Jews rightfully argue that the Messiah is not the Father. I have no idea why the English translators messed this up (likely on account of their false doctrine that Yahushua “replaced” the mean old OT Elohim, when in truth they were one and the same. The Father has not nor ever will be able to share the same space with corruption. Nor do I have any idea who the “her/she” is in the Hebrew version.
Isa 59:8 - The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goes therein shall not know peace.
There is only one way to ever know true peace, and that is by following the way of Yahuwah via the example that Yahushua left for us. His life and example is the template He left for us to step into. The great men of the OT never had such an example; they only had other men who were obviously favoured by Elohim. And, of course, the opposite is true for those who walk away from Yahuwah. Theirs will be a life consumed with strife, confrontation and violence. As for anyone striving for peace, they will be seen as weak and easy marks.
Dan. 8:25 - And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
This is not quite what the original Hebrew says.
https://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm
Dan. 8: 25 – and on intelligence of his and he causes prosper deceit in the hand of his and in the heart of him he shall magnify and in ease he shall ruin many ones and of chief of chiefs he shall stand and in limit of hand he shall be broken.
The word “peace” in the English translations should have been “ease”. With ease he (the Antichrist) shall ruin many. This makes a bit more sense. But then there is also a prophesy that in the end time there will be a “forced” state of peace but it will be purely superficial.
Mal. 2:6 - The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
This prophesy is speaking of the Messiah. He is the opposite of the Antichrist. He did not come to ruin but to rejuvenate. His will be a voluntarily accepted peace that will last for all of eternity. Iniquity is what we all must turn away from. One cannot inherit the kingdom as long as there is any iniquity found in them.
Matt. 10:34 - Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
The ways of Yahuwah can sometimes seem a little confusing. This is speaking of His first coming. With it, HaSatan knew he had but a short time left. First he began his own counterfeit religion (Christianity) and created a counterfeit messiah (Jesus Christ) to go with it. Following that, he made war on the True Followers, and that war is yet ongoing today.
Luke 1:79 - To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Before we were called, we were the ones sitting in the darkness of the shadow of death. This was all we were to inherit – death. Now we walk in the glorious light of Yahushua and with that walk we have the promise of life eternal. One would be foolish not to pursue such a promise; and yet, the world marches on with eyes sealed shut.
Luke 12:51 - Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Division indeed! On one hand He divided true Believers from the rest of the world. On the other hand, he allowed the world to test and try us. He has to know how committed we are in our hearts. And if we desire His Kingdom, we had better prepare ourselves to show Him a heart full of His righteousness.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Yahushua’s peace was different from what the world generally regards as peace. Yahushua is at peace (one) with the Father and with the creation. He is at peace with the Father because He was at all times obedient to Him and has all confidence in the Father’s love and approval. If we are at all times obedient, we will be pleasing to Him and we will know peace. Out nature will no longer be warring against Him.
Yahuwah’s peace is what will hold us up under any persecution and trial. The Apostles understood this and faced their trials devoid of fear. This is how strong our faith must be also.
Humanly speaking, man is very impatient. They want everything immediately. When that does not occur, they begin losing faith rapidly. They simply cannot fathom how a thousand years can be as one day with Yahuwah. Following Yahushua’s trial, death and resurrection, everyone, even the Apostles were expecting His return almost immediately. I am sure that apart from the Apostles, many did turn away from the faith not understanding why Yahushua delayed His coming.
Rom. 8:6 - For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
To overcome our carnal minds, we have to replace it with a spiritual mind. We develop a spiritual mind by practicing things of the spirit. We need this spiritual mind if we are to gain eternal life and the peace that goes hand-in-hand with it.
1Cor. 14:33 - For Elohim is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Peace comes part and parcel with the understanding and knowledge Yahuwah. The Apostles and saints of the earlier centuries went to their deaths in peace because they were at peace with their Elohim. Having such peace meant that they knew that death was not the end, but the beginning of a new spiritual life. Whether they thought they would be resurrected long before now is of no consequence because when they do awake it will seem that they had been dead for only a few seconds.
Gal. 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Peace is one of the 7 fruits of the spirit. In other words, it is one of the seven attributes that come with the receiving of Yahuwah spirit of righteousness. Practicing righteousness gives birth to and nurtures these qualities in a converted person. We must do our part in resisting all evil to gain them to the fullest.
Eph. 2:13 - But now in HaMashiyack Yahushua you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Messiah.
14 - For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 - Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 - And that he might reconcile both unto Elohim in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 - And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Yes, Yahushua is our peace. The world does not understand such peace because they are too far removed from it to see it clearly and understand it. Yahushua sought to make us all one with the Father as He is one with the Father just as He prayed in John 17.
John 17:5 - And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was.
11 - And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Righteous Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are.
21 - That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 - And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Verse 5 is the premise for the oneness that Yahushua shared with His Father. It does not mean that they are two people in one body; neither does it mean that they were three people in one like the lying Christian leaders teach. One is the Father and one was the Son, the beginning of the creation (the first person created). He was one with the Father in mind, body and soul because He was the perfect reflection of the Father. In this prayer He is praying that his followers share that same oneness with the Father.
Verses 11, 21 and 22 basically say the same thing. It is this oneness that we are to be seeking above anything else. Once we achieve such oneness, all the other attributes of the spirit will fall naturally in place.
Eph 6:15 - And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
The Gospel message is basically a game plan to conquer the deceptions of HaSatan and teach us how to achieve peace with the Father, following a previous life of animosity toward Him. Under such light, baptism becomes a signature to a contract or a peace treaty with the Father. And so, it is referred to as the Gospel of Peace.
Phil. 4:7 - And the peace of Elohim, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through HaMashiyack Yahushua.
This peace, which the world cannot fathom, is what keeps (preserves) our hearts and minds; the same heart and mind that was in Yahushua. By this we become one with the Father in the same manor that Yahushua was one with the Father. Our all-encompassing goal is to perfect the character of Yahushua in ourselves until we are one and the same in nature and spirit.
Col 1:20 - And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
This peace brings us into a state of reconciliation with the Father. We are no longer fighting against Him, but with Him. It was/is the shed blood of Yahushua on the cross that reconciles us. In ancient times, it was the blood of a bull that was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat for the forgiveness of sin. However, the Mercy Seat discovered by Ron Wyatt in a hidden chamber that was discovered behind a tomb cut out of the side of the mount upon which Yahushua was crucified. And guess what he found on the Mercy Seat? Drops of the Messiah’s blood that seeped through the opening created by the great earthquake that shook Jerusalem at the moment He gave up His spirit. That blood that came from the wound in His side (from the spear). And so, Yahushua’s blood was the last and final blood sacrifice to be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. Of course, His blood was much more special to Yahuwah (and to us) than any animal sacrifice. Another anomaly that Wyatt found when he had the DNA of the blood tested, that there appeared to be only one X chromosome from the mother and none from the Father. This affirms that His Father was not of the human realm.
Col 3:15 - And let the peace of Elohim rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body; and be you thankful.
The peace of Yahuwah is to rule our hearts. If we yet are battling with evil thoughts, this peace is not yet ruling our hearts, and we know we have to work harder. We are to become one body with the Father, thinking acting and speaking as one. And if thankful as we ought to be, we will be glorifying Yahushua with every action, thought and word.
2 Tim. 2:22 - Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on Yahuwah out of a pure heart.
When we were young, we lusted after many things, most of which were of HaSatan. Now that we have been changed, we are to lust with the same vigor for the things of Yahuwah. The road maps lead us to follow in Yahuwah’s righteousness, faith, charity and peace. There is no law against any of these things and they will definitely lead us into a righteous relationship with the Father.
Purity of the heart is another thing we seek. When we truly become one with the Father, our hearts will be purified, and we will be one with the Father.
Heb. 12:14 - Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
This verse says it all, folks. If such peace and holiness is not what we seek with “all men”, not just our brothers and sisters in the faith, then we will not see Yahuwah. In other words, we will never see the Kingdom. That is how important this is to our spiritual walk. We cannot afford to mess this up. We should be reflecting the light of Yahushua 24/7, in all circumstances and in all places.
James 3:18 - And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
We are to practice taking on the peace of Yahuwah. That is the key to achieving the righteousness of Yahuwah in our own being.
2 Pet. 3:14 - Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Wow! This is an awfully tall order – we must be found in peace, without spot (blemish) and blameless. Anyone who feel they are coming up short (right alongside of myself) need to be diligent to look for and follow after these things. Of course, this world presents many obstacles in achieving this goal, but we are to persevere and fight with all our might to achieve it. If our hearts are right with Yahuwah, we will be victorious. What have we got to lose – our lives? This physical life we are living is not the life we seek. We seek after the spiritual, in which our desire should be to be like the Father and the Son in every way and capacity.
Rev. 6:4 - And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
The goal of the Antichrist is going to be to take the peace of Yahuwah from the earth; and for a time (3 ½ years) he is going to appear victorious. Yahushua will bring that peace back when He returns. The opposite of peace is war. And, this will be the war to end all wars. Following it, man will be so sick of war and the heartbreak that it brings, that many will finally be ready to make their peace with Yahuwah.
Rev. 7:9 - After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Halleluyah! There is yet hope for mankind. If we are diligent in our quest to become one with the Father as the Son already is, we will attain the same glory as He. We will be rulers and priest in the Kingdom, walking in Yahuwah’s glorious light for all of eternity. Is this not what we seek? If not, it should be. Forget all the squabbling over various pieces of doctrine. It is a complete waste of time. Focus only on achieving this oneness and peace with Yahuwah.
Conclusion
So, if one is not a peacemaker now, one had better become one soon. This is something I have been working on for some time and am sometimes still found lacking. It takes a lot of work if one is naturally confrontational. Sometimes I must take up to 3 days to calm down and confront the person peacefully instead of confrontationally. But that is my hurdle, everyone’s is different.
This site gives some good advice.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/resolving-conflict-six-si_b_4171635
To address both needs, employ the Three Golden Rules of Engagement:
1. Listen and respond with empathy
2. Be involved; ask for the other person’s opinions, ideas and thoughts
3. Maintain and affirm self-esteem
Six Steps to Conflict Resolution
2. 1. Discuss the situation in a respectful manner. Example: “I noticed you’ve been late with the project targets a number of times this month, which seems out of character for you - you’re always so reliable!” Don’t say, “You are always late meeting deadlines.” This just gets the person’s back up.
3. 2. Be specific. If you say, “I noticed that on Tuesday the 15th, as well as Monday and Friday of last month you were several days late submitting your portion of the project brief,” the person realizes you are aware of the situation and that they have to address the issue. Their explanation is a perfect opportunity for you to listen and respond with empathy. Remember: you do not necessarily have to agree with someone to empathize with them. You are simply attempting to put yourself in that person’s shoes - if only for a moment — not condemning or condoning the behavior.
3. Discuss how a conflict (or problem) impacts you, the work group, or the project. “I am not sure you are aware of the full impact of the conflict between you and your team. The other associates are witnessing this, and it is making them uncomfortable... what do you feel is going on?” Remember, you are asking not telling.
4. 4. Ask for the specific cause of the conflict. “From your perspective, what is happening here? You get along well with most everyone here so what is causing the conflict?” Remember to empathize again after their response, rather than say, “Yes, but you’ve got to get along.” The word “but” negates everything positive you just said.
5. If you have to fall on a conjunction, pick “and.” “Yes, I can imagine the challenge this presents — and we need to come up with a solution. What ideas might you have?”
6. 5. Ask for the solution. For instance, “What do you think you need to do to help solve this situation? What is your next step?” This brings in accountability.
7. 6. Agree on the action to be taken. This step is often missed and it’s the most important one. Think of it as a recap. “So what I am hearing you say is that you are going to talk this through with your team members (discuss details). By when were you thinking of doing that?” The last step is to close on a positive note and ask them to get back to you on the outcome.
Being a peacemaker takes a great deal of time and patience to attain perfection. But the more one practices, the easier it becomes. The best place to start is with one’s own family. That is the one area where one’s emotions often fly in all directions. If one can attain peace in one’s own family, the rest of the world will be a snap.
And, if one can think of it at the time, place yourself in Yahushua’s shoes and use words you would imagine He would use under similar circumstances. And, do not raise your voice at any time, even if the other person is shouting at you. The calm in your voice will eventually cause the other person to lower their voice as well.
Peacemaking is an art. An artist does not become one overnight. They have to work at it. This is doable, folks. Else Yahuwah would not expect it of us. We need to overcome our self doubt and realize that we do have it within ourselves to attain the same degree of perfection that Yahushua did. That is what this walk is all about.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.