Holy Peacekeeping

Scripture: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

Observation: Interactions with non-believers are marked by two personality traits - being a peacekeeper, and being holy. Holiness has a special qualification, as it is the means through which others will see God.

Application: I think often on the need to be a peacekeeper, as my job brings me into conflict with many people. As the PMO director, every unresolvable issue on every IT project escalates to me, and it is my job to "fix" the situation ... which usually involves talking to another manager about why their refusal to support a project needs "correction." Even my "good" work involves implementing change, which itself creates conflict with people who resist change for many reasons. The bottom line is that almost every conversation I have for nine hours a day every weekday involves either referring some disagreement, or engaging in a disagreement with someone in order to overcome the situation and make progress.

This makes the "peacekeeper" objective difficult. As a result, I'm interested in the "holy" side of this direction. In my daily professional life, holiness takes the form of ... integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, appropriate language, to name a few. These are all things I strive for all the time at work.

As I consider this, I realize there may be a way of blending these ideas, and that would be through patience and kindness and gentleness. These too are "fruits of the spirit" that represent holiness, but at the same time can keep the peace with others. Sometimes these may be difficult to exhibit - it is pretty hard to be patient when there's a critical deadline - but blending these characteristics into confrontational situations can keep the peace and exhibit holiness.

Since we are working through a difficult time regarding resources over the next 90 days at work, this would be a good lesson for me to take to heart now.

Prayer: Lord, again I pray about how I can better exhibit fruit of the spirit ... how I can be peaceful, patient, kind and gentle toward others in the midst of a stressful and confrontational day. Please guide me in these things - bring your spirit to rest upon me in times of stress and conflict so I may be holy and thus glorify you to others. It is for you and your work in the lives of others that I wish to kindly serve them. Thank you for your love and your spirit. Amen.