Be Diplomats For Jesus & His Kingdom – Seek Peace, But Be Wise & Wary

Word-of-the-Day: ‘<Jesus said on the Sermon of the Mount>, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”’ (Matthew 5:9);  ‘If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ (Romans 12:18); ‘Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.’ (Proverbs 12:20)

A long time ago when I was a much younger man, I spent a bit of time in a small role (a very small supporting role) that was part of a move into international relations.  It was clear both the US representatives and those of the nation we sought to strengthen our relationship with wanted their agenda to be the top priority.  Part of these two agendas matched up almost perfectly, some were similar but a bit differing in goals, and others were just simply not compatible.

To be fair, there were on both sides some ‘promises’ made that were obvious would not be kept, but it appeared that this was understood; the promises were made more to show a desire for better cooperation though they were ‘pie-in-the-sky’ fantasies that could never come to fruition.  Only very few attempts were viewed, in my opinion, as being deceitful, or trying to take advantage of the other party to gain one-up-man-ship over the other.  Granted, there may have been way more than a naïve 20-something could fathom, but overall, the relationship was diplomatic and friendly, though always with caution and verification.

Today, there appears to be the intrigue and subterfuge in the international relations between nations that has always been there, but there are also more overt indicators that promote the undermining of a given nation by others.  In the United States, for example, we find international influences, through sanctioned policies and financial support, of movements that are promoting discontent and dissention of our institutions in governance, education, and media. 

The use of ‘non-governmental organizations’ or NGOs that take ‘donations’ from these foreign nations, in order to finance radical movements to organize vocal protests, ‘lawfare’, and other activities, under the guise of ‘grassroots campaigning’, attempt to paint the picture of widespread dissention though only a very small minority may have these beliefs.  Many others only make such statements as long as they receive a payment to do so, and their true thoughts are more aligned with the mainstream rather than with the more radical mindset.

Those who promote such deceit are doing so for their self-serving agendas, for either power or financial gain.  Those who follow these deceitful plans do so to fit in and be in the ‘Cool Kids’ Club’, not wanting to be outside of acceptance in the secular societal worldview by opposing the Truth.  Others may not know any better, in part due to an educational system that dissuaded critical thinking and promotion of weighing options in thought. 

Recently, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stated he could never lecture at Stanford University’s law school, due to the students’ desire to be seen as guardians of the liberal and secular agenda and not wanting to engage in honest debate between that and conservative viewpoints.  It is troubling that at Stanford, and in other renown universities, such as Oxford in Great Britain, the freedom to debate opposing thoughts has been virtually eliminated through this deceitful push of dissuading and shutting down, often through violence and disruption, the pursuit of Truth.

Jesus, on His Sermon of the Mount, while warning of the dangers of evil, always made peaceful interaction the primary goal of His Gospel.  Evil in our mortal lives can never be completely defeated by edict; coercion or prohibition of evil activities that go against the Biblical principles God laid out to man to follow, never work and man will always find a way to run around the obstacles.  The Prohibition of alcoholic beverages never worked in the US; people opened underground ‘speakeasies’ or began making bootleg ‘moonshine’ through hidden stills deep in the Appalachian Mountains.

Likewise, it is not for us to openly battle evil, but fight against it through the promotion of Godly peace through the evangelism of the Gospel message, if at all possible, as stated in Romans 12:18.  It is an uphill battle for us, and one that will not see evil defeated until the End Times of Revelation 21 and 22.  This is why Jesus blesses those who try to promote peace, because not everyone will want to hear it, let alone try to live in peace.

Like the relationship between nations, we should align ourselves first to those who share our values.  True Fellowship needs to be between fellow Believers who share Faith in Christ, and can learn from each other.  A second tier are those who may not share our Faith, but are moral and ethical individuals who promote peaceful relationships.  We should engage with them in order to promote the Gospel and the cause of Christ to them.  Their agenda may be similar to ours, though the differences may keep us wary with caution, like the international relationship I describe at the beginning.

As the differences become more pronounced and outweighing any similarities, we cannot simply ignore those people, but we must use more caution, up to the point where we must be ready to physically defend ourselves.  Meekness is not weakness, but we must be courageous and not be afraid of those encounters to share with those who do not share our values, morals, or ethics.  There are going to be those who hate us for being Faithful Christians, even those who may state they are ‘Christian’. 

Even the US attempts to have diplomatic relations with countries that are openly hostile to it, and we must also try to keep a dialogue open.  Evangelism, the charge given to us in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20 & Acts 1:8), is not supposed to always be on terms of our own comfort and safety, but often in places where there may be hostility to the missionary.  We should be prepared for that hostility while seeking peaceful dialogue. 

Only in the most hostile situations should we avoid interactions.  It would not be wise or prudent, for example, to try to witness to a group of anti-Christian secularist protestors at the height of great tensions.  It would be better to wait until they disperse, and try to provide the Gospel of Jesus to them individually, or to a much smaller group of them, afterwards.  The mob mentality is strongest when the mob is intact, and weakest when it disperses.

Diplomacy and the wisdom of trying to keep the peace is Godly and very respectable.  The deceit in attempting to ‘get one over’ and in coercing another, as other world religions attempt, is wrong and evil.  Be shrewd and wise, and find refuge in True Fellowship, while finding strength and courage with God when engaging with those who may be a bit different than you.