Last night I came across a post from Dave Parke, a former Army Ranger and veteran who has seen combat up close. More than 160,000 people have read it so far, and I understand why.
Dave had been reading online chatter about a strategy to have states declare the federal government illegitimate. What bothered him most wasn’t open talk of violence. It was how casually some people treat the idea, as if a break like that could be started on purpose and then steered wherever they want it to go.
This isn’t only social media talk. On October 20, The Washington Post reported that a small group of current and former national security officials has been quietly advising governors, election officials, and lawmakers from both parties on how to prepare if the federal government tries to interfere in next month’s midterm elections. The administration says those fears are unfounded. Critics, including the researcher Dave had been reading, say some of the same people have discussed states treating the federal government as illegitimate.
Wherever you land on that story, it tells you how high the temperature has gotten. One side is preparing to defend the states from Washington. The other side sees that as a plot against the country. Trust is wearing dangerously thin.
Dave reminded his readers that the Civil War is still the deadliest conflict in our history. About 2% of the country died. At today’s population, that would be roughly 7.5 million Americans. And he made a point that stuck with me. That war was fought mostly by armies in uniform. A modern one wouldn’t be. It would be fought on Main Street, in subdivisions, in the house next door, where nobody could tell friend from enemy.
Then he said something I didn’t expect. He wasn’t calling for a fight. He was begging people to avoid one. If you want to change how the country works, he said, the Founders already gave us a lawful way to do it. Use it.
He ended with General Sherman’s famous words: “War is hell.”
What hit me hardest is this. The man who has actually seen war is the one pleading for peace. So often, the loudest voices calling for a fight belong to people who will never have to pay for it.
Scripture
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:17 to 18 (NIV)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
How I Understand This Scripture
When Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, they weren’t living in a fair world. They lived under an empire that did not care about them and would soon turn violent toward them. If anyone had a reason to see their government as illegitimate, it was them.
Yet Paul didn’t tell them to wait until the other side deserved peace. He told them to pursue it “as far as it depends on you.” I understand that to mean God holds me responsible for my part. I can’t control what anyone else says or does. I can control my words, my attitude, and what I’m willing to stir up.
And when Jesus blesses the peacemakers, I notice He doesn’t say peace lovers or peace wishers. He says makers. Peace isn’t sitting back and hoping things calm down. It’s work. Sometimes it’s hard work, especially when everyone around you is angry.
My Reflection
It’s easy right now to look at people who vote differently and see an enemy. Our phones feed us outrage all day long, because outrage keeps us scrolling. Before long, we start talking about our neighbors the way you’d talk about an invading army.
But I sit in church on Sunday next to people who don’t vote the way I do. I’ve played music for crowds full of them. I’ve worked with them, eaten with them, and prayed with them. They are not my enemy. Scripture is clear that my real enemy is not flesh and blood.
Here’s what Dave’s post made me think about. My stepson Ty joined the military this fall. When people talk about breaking the country apart like it’s a strategy game, they’re talking about young men and women like him. They’re talking about my granddaughter’s future. The people who start these fires are rarely the ones who get burned.
So I asked myself, what depends on me?
It depends on me what I post and share. It depends on me how I talk about people I disagree with, even when they’re not in the room. It depends on me whether I pray for our leaders, including the ones I didn’t vote for, which Scripture tells me to do. It depends on me whether I pursue change the right way, by voting, speaking up, and working through the process, instead of cheering on anyone who wants to tear it all down.
I’m not called to be silent about what I believe. I’m called to be a peacemaker while I say it. Those two things are not opposites. Jesus spoke the truth more boldly than anyone, and He was still called the Prince of Peace.
Dave is right. War is hell. My prayer is that we never have to learn that lesson again on our own streets. And the way we avoid it starts small, in our homes, our churches, and our comment sections, long before the smoke ever rises.
Prayer
Father, thank You that You are the God of peace. Forgive me for the times I’ve let anger and fear speak louder than Your Spirit. Guard my words and my heart. Help me see people who disagree with me as neighbors You love, not enemies to defeat. Give wisdom to our leaders, all of them, and turn the hearts of those who would stir up division. Protect our elections, our communities, and our young men and women in uniform. Make me a peacemaker in my home, my church, and my country, as far as it depends on me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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