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LESSONS FROM HEZBOLLAH “…In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” –Ephesians 6:16 “What does Hezbollah have to do with my marriage, and why should I care?” Well, the truth is, we can learn a lot, beginning with two basic “truisms.” First, “Hurling rockets won’t get you anywhere,” and secondly, “A lot of innocent bystanders will be hurt by the warfare.” How do we hurl our own katyusha rockets? You know, when you say something really nasty to hurt your spouse then you rush out of the room and slam the door behind you before they can respond. You got your rocket off to hurt your spouse, to put them in their place. Then the artillery barrage comes back at you and the kids start running for cover. It’s interesting how we see human nature acting exactly the same whether we’re talking about nations at war or families in strife. That’s because nations are made up of individual people with a sinful human nature. We keep hearing, “Only diplomacy can put an end to the violence.” How true. But diplomacy requires two basic things, first, a common interest in establishing an atmosphere of peace that is greater than our personal agendas, our hurts and our perceived injustices. Secondly, it requires the “c” word, you know, “communication.” Maybe we can’t solve the Middle East problems, but we do have the power to bring peace to our own homes if we will be willing to stop hurling rockets, or even reacting with artillery, but stop to communicate and focus on our common goals instead of our individual agendas, hurts, and perceived injustices. I understand, just like it will take a miracle to bring peace to the Middle East, it seems like it will take a miracle to bring peace to our relationships. That’s why we serve a miracle-working God. It’s his power, but it begins with our choice to put away the rockets, humble ourselves and come to the table. The choice is ours: war, or peace, which will it be? Question for Both of Us: Do we hurl rockets at each other like cowardly terrorists? Who gets hurt by it? What purpose does it serve? Prayer For Both of Us: Lord, help us to put away useless terrorist ways. Help us to sit down at the table of diplomacy to remind ourselves of our common goals for love and peace. Then help us to work toward that goal as two intelligent, Spirit-filled followers of Jesus Christ. |
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