@ Etude- Peace Loving

UV 3276/10000 @Etude- Peace Loving

So Abram said to Lot, " Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives."

Genesis 13 v 8

Strife and conflict arose between the herdsmen of Lot and those of Abraham over grazing rights. Abraham immediately sought to address it instead of allowing it to slide and exacerbate tensions. He allowed Lot to have his choice of which area and which direction he wanted to settle. Lot chose the more fertile valley of the Jordan that was well watered and lush with vegetation. Abraham had facilitated a peaceful resolution of what could have caused a lot of bad blood between kinsmen. This throws light on the peace -loving nature of Abraham. It was one of the sources of blessing in his life for as Jesus said several centuries later, " Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."

As children of God, we too should shun strife and conflict and always endeavour to find a peaceful way to resolve issues. The Lord will give us wisdom to resolve conflicts that arise in our families, our neighbourhood and beyond. The heart of Abraham is revealed that later on when Lot's life is threatened by destruction of Sodom where he lived, Abraham intercedes with the Lord and becomes responsible for saving Lot from impending destruction. Abraham had not held any grudge in his heart against his nephew from the past. However, he was not a pacifist for when he found that a local chief had attacked his camp and taken away many of the women of his camp including his nephew Lot from Sodom, Abraham got his small army of trained men to counter attack and retrieved whatever he had lost.

Today, there are conflicts arising in all parts of the world and virtually in all families on issues relating to rights to water of rivers, inheritance of property and so on. As people of faith like Abraham, we are given a special responsibility to be problem solvers and not aggravators of these situations. The Lord looks with favour upon all who are committed to maintaining and promoting peace. This is the reason the angels proclaimed at the birth of Jesus, "Peace on Earth and good will among all mankind." St Paul also adviced the early believers, " Do your best to live at peace with everyone." Peace is our ideal and goal but like Abraham we should come up with practical solutions and steps to resolve conflict situations. Even law enforcement agencies can learn from the example of Abraham to take proactive steps to prevent the breakdown of peace and order before it reaches a flash point of violence, chaos and mayhem.