Articles
"Let There Be Peace"
General Ulysses S. Grant was a military man. He grew up in southwestern Ohio and went to West Point after graduating from high school. He fought in the U.S. – Mexican War and later left the military. When the U.S. Civil War broke out, he deeply despised the thought of a divided country and re-enlisted. He rose rapidly through the ranks of the Un-ion Army and eventually became THE Union General in the war. He is to this day regarded as one of the greatest military minds not only in the history of the United States, but in world history. We see that kind of resume and may immediately label him, and others, as someone who loved war. However, based on everything I have read, that is not true. General Grant hated war. He believed that war should be a last resort and only imple-mented as a means to achieving peace. After serving two terms as our President, Grant and his wife went on a worldwide tour that lasted several months. When they came to France, many assumed that General Grant would want to visit Napoleon’s tomb, a fa-mous/infamous warrior. He refused. He stated that Napoleon had glorified war, and that war should never be glorified. An ex-pression that he regularly used during his days as a general and as president was, “Let there be peace”.
Unfortunately, over the course of my life, I have seen men and wom-en in the church who actually seemed to enjoy spiritual battles and war. I canceled all publications from brethren years ago because I was fed up seeing brethren, at times, do nothing but bicker across the country through those publications. I witnessed Christians wage war against preachers whose style they didn’t like and against elders who would not do their bidding. Do we hate spiritual wars? Do we view them only as a last resort? I hope so because Jesus condemns those who weaken peace and sow division in His church (I Corinthians 1:10-11). “Let there be peace.”
In the Union Army, Grant had men under him with strikingly different personalities and backgrounds and yet he recognized he needed each of them and found ways to unite them under a common cause – the unity of a nation. Some of us are introverts, some extroverts. Some like sports, others do not. Some have a dry sense of humor, others are sarcastic. (Don’t those people bug you? LOL!) Some like to travel, oth-ers are homebodies. We need to stop believing that if everyone had our personality and interests that they and the church would be so much better off. Think for a moment about two great men in Scrip-ture – Peter and Paul. Paul was sarcastic (I Corinthians 4:8-10). I don’t see that in Peter. Peter was, at times, impetuous (John 21:7). I don’t see that in Paul. What united them was a great love for one another and for the Lord and, at the end of the day, that is all that really matters. Let that be said of all of us. It’s understandable that we gravi-tate toward those with whom we are more alike and have more in common. But it shouldn’t be our goal to only surround ourselves with those brethren. That causes little groups to form which may, in turn, result in envy, battles, and division. Let’s strive to have good connec-tions with everyone. “Let there be peace”.
The generals who served under Grant had a wide range of talents. Some were aggressive, some more cautious. Grant’s job was to use those talents to their fullest potential and bring peace and unity to a divided nation. We can help maintain unity and peace in the Lord’s church by embracing the different talents and abilities of everyone. If we are not careful we can focus our praise on those who do things in the kingdom that are, by their nature, more public and evident to eve-ryone. Not everyone is comfortable teaching a class, preaching a ser-mon, or leading a song. Perhaps you lead in many or all of the acts of worship, teach classes, and do other work in the kingdom that, by its nature, is evident to many. That’s great. But does that make you more important than those who save the church thousands of dollars every year by cutting the grass, cleaning the building, or doing other mainte-nance work? It’s a rhetorical question. The answer is “no”. Paul teach-es us in I Corinthians 12:12-31 that the church is one body which has many members, and all play an important role. “Let there be peace.”
The foundation of General Grant’s belief that the union should not be divided was the U.S. Constitution. The foundation of maintaining peace and unity in the church is to stand on something that is infinitely great-er than our Constitution – the pure Word of God. In Paul’s writings he implores us to “stand firm” upon God’s Word eight times. If we all do that, there will be peace and unity. “Let there be peace.”
As indicated earlier, General Grant viewed war as a last resort and only as a means to achieve peace. We need that same mindset when it comes to the Lord’s church. On occasion, unfortunately, spiritual battles must be fought to restore peace and unity in the church. Some-times openly calling out and/or withdrawing from false teachers and unfaithful brethren who may or are pulling others away from the truth is necessary (Titus 3:10-11). When that happens arguments may occur. Some may loudly and angrily leave, especially if a family member is at the heart of the problem. All of that should not occur. But if “good warfare” (I Timothy 1:18-19) is necessary to preserve the union of the church and restore peace, then we must have courage and love for the Lord’s church to wage that battle because eternal souls are at stake. Let there always be peace at Northern KY.
