Peace-faking

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts. – Psalm 28:3 (NIV)

This verse speaks of those who pretend to be nice to their neighbors but harbor hatred (and probably bitterness) in their hearts toward their neighbors. There’s an element of being two-faced. Besides being guilty of murder in God’s eyes (see Matthew 5:21-22 and 1 John 3:15), this action is completely devoid of any integrity. Peacemaker Ministries would refer to this type of person as a peace-faker, not a peace-maker.

This verse describes me (and believe me, I don’t like to be referred to as wicked). I do this more frequently than I would like to admit. And I think this is something that is, unfortunately, rampant in the Church in America today. For some reason, we’ve succumbed to the idea that we must be nice (even though the word nice doesn’t appear in Scripture). While the Bible does tell us to be kind to one another, the overarching command is to love one another. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is confront someone of their sin (Matthew 18:15). Instead, we so often bury it in our minds, thinking it won’t matter. We think we can just forgive and forget. Yet we harbor the hurt and dwell on the other person’s sin and, all the while, a root of bitterness grows in us (Hebrews 12:15).

The solution is reconciliation. If someone’s sin is serious enough that I cannot overlook it or easily forget about it, I need to lovingly and gently confront in hopes of reconciling with him/her. Confession and subsequently forgiveness needs to take place. By God’s grace, that’s what would allow me to “speak cordially with my neighbors” without “harboring malice in my heart.”

In His grace, may God make us peace-makers, not peace-fakers.