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Sabbath Devotional :: Peacemaking Means Elevating, Not Shrinking
I recently gave a lesson on President Nelson’s talk on peacemaking. When I distilled the talk down to its heart, this is what I came up with: The invitation to become a peacemaker is an invitation for us to elevate ourselves, not an invitation to shrink ourselves. It’s an invitation to act courageously and boldly in creating a world where everybody is valued, where unity and justice abound, and love permeates everything and every heart. Being a peacemaker does not require us to hide ourselves or diminish ourselves in any way. Passivity is not a requirement to be a peacemaker, and bold action, when rooted in love, is not the…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Efforts in Peacemaking
The principles that anchor my own efforts and the work all of us do at MWEG are the Six Principles of Peacemaking, each so important and insightful that we probably aren’t supposed to have a favorite one. But over the last few years I’ve developed a love for the Third Principle: “Peacemaking demands great tolerance for people and none for injustice.” Having grown up in a family full of strong-willed relatives, I didn’t always have a “great tolerance for people,” and so I feel drawn to this idea because it has not been one of my strengths. But as I have become more involved in MWEG’s peacemaking efforts and through my…
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Rethinking Anger and Peacemaking
When scrolling through social media or listening to the news, it seems lots of people are angry, for a lot of different reasons. It may be tempting to dismiss such anger as divisive. However, as a professor and student of rhetoric, I am troubled by this tendency to dismiss other people and their arguments simply because we believe those arguments are made in anger. If we are committed to peacemaking and eliminating injustice, we need to be open to discussions, even if the framing or content of those discussions makes us uncomfortable. Not all anger is equal I want to be clear: I’m not saying we should give a pass…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Way of the Peacemaker
I was praying with particular earnestness and focus yesterday morning both because our oldest son was taking his Step 3 medical board exams that day and because our only daughter is off on another madcap solo adventure and planned to rent a car and drive in Ireland. “Please, please protect her, especially as this will be her first time driving on the wrong side of the road,” I prayed. Immediately, the spirit corrected me: “You mean, on the *other* side of the road?” This was said in that characteristically loving and almost indulgent, but gently chiding tone that I’ve come to recognize as the way the spirit speaks to me…
