Keeping the peace

[Disciple]

What are ways you keep peace and avoid conflict? As disciples of Christ we are peace makers.
*
(Matt. 5:25)
'Agree with thine adversary quickly..'
A pastor I knew talked about this verse alot and said agreeing with someone instead of arguing and disputing about the matter is not bad and is a way to keep peace, a man that is full of pride constantly argues and cannot just turn the other cheek in any situation, and agreeing with someone doesn't mean you support their ideas or beleifs just say something like 'thats a good thought'; you don't necassarily have to agree with their thoughts just suppress the evil in the situation with a compliment, as it is written 'overcome evil with good.'

 

[TexUs]

What are ways you keep peace and avoid conflict? As disciples of Christ we are peace makers.
*
(Matt. 5:25)
'Agree with thine adversary quickly..'
A pastor I knew talked about this verse alot and said agreeing with someone instead of arguing and disputing about the matter is not bad and is a way to keep peace, a man that is full of pride constantly argues and cannot just turn the other cheek in any situation, and agreeing with someone doesn't mean you support their ideas or beleifs just say something like 'thats a good thought'; you don't necassarily have to agree with their thoughts just suppress the evil in the situation with a compliment, as it is written 'overcome evil with good.'

I think your definition of peace might be different than the Apostles. While peaceful people they still debated and had disagreements with others (see Paul's rebuke of Peter, or many places in Acts).

Also Matthew 5:25 is talking about anger, not pacifist peace.

I think it's in error we read about one extreme being wrong and then conclude the opposite extreme must be right.

They're both extremes.

 

[Disciple]

What extreme things are you talking about?

 

[TexUs]

Extreme 1: Angry with your brother and bicker and fight and hold grudges
Extreme 2: Never say anything to your brother and just smile and agree regardless of what he does.

The passage you referenced speaks against Extreme 1. It doesn't advocate for Extreme 2.


As with everything, moderation.

The Apostles didn't beat people half to death for disagreeing with them. They also didn't stand by and be "yes men" to show them "love".
They corrected, rebuked, and debated.

 

[Ingbert]

What are ways you keep peace and avoid conflict? As disciples of Christ we are peace makers.
*
(Matt. 5:25)
'Agree with thine adversary quickly..'
A pastor I knew talked about this verse alot and said agreeing with someone instead of arguing and disputing about the matter is not bad and is a way to keep peace, a man that is full of pride constantly argues and cannot just turn the other cheek in any situation, and agreeing with someone doesn't mean you support their ideas or beleifs just say something like 'thats a good thought'; you don't necassarily have to agree with their thoughts just suppress the evil in the situation with a compliment, as it is written 'overcome evil with good.'

I don't believe Jesus is saying agree with anybody, no matter what they're saying. Jesus himself didn't do that.


I find it's best to take a verse in context to determine it's meaning. Following verses 23 & 24 about reconciling with one's brother, I think verse 25 is more about reconciling with someone you may have wronged, else why the warning about "lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison"?

 

[bigape]

They corrected, rebuked, and debated.

So did the Lord Jesus..........
Matthew 23:13-33
V.13 ¶ But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
V.14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
V.15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
V.16 Woe unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
V.17 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
V.18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
V.19 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
V.20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
V.21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
V.22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
V.23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
V.24 [Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
V.25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
V.26 [Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
V.27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men’s] bones, and of all uncleanness.
V.28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
V.29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
V.30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
V.31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
V.32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
V.33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

 

[aspen]

What are ways you keep peace and avoid conflict? As disciples of Christ we are peace makers.
*
(Matt. 5:25)
'Agree with thine adversary quickly..'
A pastor I knew talked about this verse alot and said agreeing with someone instead of arguing and disputing about the matter is not bad and is a way to keep peace, a man that is full of pride constantly argues and cannot just turn the other cheek in any situation, and agreeing with someone doesn't mean you support their ideas or beleifs just say something like 'thats a good thought'; you don't necassarily have to agree with their thoughts just suppress the evil in the situation with a compliment, as it is written 'overcome evil with good.'

I think there is something to this idea. A good way for me to remember this is when I realize that the validity of my opinion about a truth being discussed or possibly argued is not dependent on whether I discredit the person I am disagreeing with.

Also, for myself, I have come to realize that debates and discussions are more about working out my own understanding rather than convincing others of my opinion.

 

[Disciple]

Yes there is a great scripture that implies that thought ill post it when I come across it

 

[Robbie]

A couple things I'm working on...

Not feeling like I need to get the last word... even if the other persons last word is an insult...

Not feeling like I need to defend myself...

Not feeling like I need the other person to tell me I'm right...

Not letting myself get caught up in arguments that are just repetitively circular and not going anywhere... if we've both said the same thing more than once and I feel hostility increasing more so than understanding it's pointless to continue...

Praying for someone I feel is wronging me instead of wronging them back...

Blessing someone if I feel like they're cursing me...

Trying to love people instead of catering to my ego and pride///

 

[jiggyfly]

A couple things I'm working on...

Not feeling like I need to get the last word... even if the other persons last word is an insult...

Not feeling like I need to defend myself...

Not feeling like I need the other person to tell me I'm right...

Not letting myself get caught up in arguments that are just repetitively circular and not going anywhere... if we've both said the same thing more than once and I feel hostility increasing more so than understanding it's pointless to continue...

Praying for someone I feel is wronging me instead of wronging them back...

Blessing someone if I feel like they're cursing me...

Trying to love people instead of catering to my ego and pride///

Your post really blessed me Robbie, this is what I call maturing spiritually. I enjoy your posts