One of Jesus’s most often quoted and easily underestimated sermons was the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. God designed this list of blessings to encourage the marginalized, oppressed, abused, and depressed. Unfortunately, a sinister element lurks behind these truths to cause pain, not promote healing. Many cases of abuse are perpetrated through the misinterpretation of what it is to be a true Beatitude peacemaker. The enemy seeks a combination of a fearful and a controlling person to execute a cycle of abuse and fear. How do we find the blessing in being a peacemaker and not become a punching bag for an abuser? It’s essential to identify what a peacemaker is and what it isn’t. It’s also critical that we consider how unhealed pain and triggers play a part in the process.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
What a Peacemaker Isn’t
History has proven that ultimate power in human hands always leads to a “Man’s inhumanity to man.” It’s grievous that the corporate church and religious people are not immune. Unchecked power in the hands of a human most often leads to abuse. Every abusive person has a supporter in their circle, who are usually also their victims. This supporter ensures everyone in the circle knows not to trigger the abuser. They want peace at all costs, but they’re not peacemakers; they are enablers. Cowering to tyrannical behavior isn’t what God means when He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” One question will help you decide if you are a peacemaker or a punching bag. We must ask ourselves, are we choosing to be a peacemaker out of fear of upsetting the person in power?
"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Romans 12:18-20
What A Peacemaker Is
“Romans 12:18-21 tells us to seek peace as much as it relies on us. A big part of this means dealing with our souls through things that trigger us. God doesn’t tell us to be at peace with others at the cost of our safety, emotional health, or well-being. The next part of the verse tells us to bless our enemies. If we misinterpret this, we go further down the path of victimhood, becoming an abuser’s agent. The scripture specifies blessing them to meet basic actual needs, not unreasonable selfish power-grabbing needs. Doing this right doesn’t protect or enable an abuser. It’s an attitude of the heart. It’s something we can do from a safe distance that directly challenges our forgiveness and sense of earthly justice. We are called to sacrifice our flesh, to defer to God’s sovereignty, but not because we fear a person’s anger.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3-5
Dealing With Triggers
Being a peacemaker is a deep and heart-searching, flesh-challenging concept that brings us closer to God. It involves seeing our triggers as road signs pointing to the healing we need. It’s wrong to expect others to accommodate our triggers. It’s also not our job to do it for others. We can’t be peacemakers without dealing with our unhealed souls. Being a peacemaker is not enduring abuse or trying to put out fires for an abuser. It is becoming less easily offended or triggered. This is where we find freedom, strength, wisdom, and grace to bless our enemies. We can then more easily leave vengeance in the hands of our loving and sovereign God.
"Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
nor go with a wrathful man,lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”
Proverbs 22:22-25
Prayer
Thank you, heavenly Father, for Your word. For it brings light, freedom, and healing. I place my pain, injuries, and triggers on Your throne right now. Help me see those areas where I need to be healed and work healing in me. I give You my fears; forgive me for bowing to them, to the fear and anger of others. Give me strength and wisdom, and heal me so I may never do this again. Lord, I give You my triggers, signs that I need healing and change. The enemy easily manipulates them. I want to be under Your control, not any person, and I definitely do not want to be under the enemy’s control. So I place life in Your sovereign hands. I choose to forgive; I ask that You bless them, give me wisdom, and protect me. I pray for the many people in our world who are easily triggered and need healing. Do a work of truth in our society that will lead to the healing of our land. In Jesus’s name, amen.
