7 Ways to Avoid Peace

Is that a sarcastic title? Have you ever wondered if there were ways to avoid peace? Probably not. I bet you would offer anything to find it, rather than prevent it from happening. Although you’re looking for God’s peace, your actions seem to prove just the opposite.

To Avoid Peace, Ignore Heavenly Wisdom

James is clear when he explains the distinction between earthly and heavenly wisdom in 3:13-17. Verse 13 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom…”

Then verse 14 starts, “But…”

Uh Oh. Whenever there’s a “but,” you know there’s a warning coming.

“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth…”

Verse 15 gives a serious punch: “Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

Wow! James does not hold back, does he? His words are like a double-edged sword that judges your heart and attitude (Hebrews 4:12).

Don’t ignore heavenly wisdom by hanging onto earthly, unspiritual, and even demonic wisdom. The counsel of your friends is never as wise as that of God. Receive wisdom from heaven that is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, of good fruit, impartial, and sincere (v. 17).

Wouldn’t you rather have that kind of wisdom to have peace?

If you don’t want peace, ignore heavenly wisdom.

To Avoid Peace, Keep Your Own Agenda

Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who only thinks of themselves? They often talk about themselves and engage in fights or quarrels to get their way. Some people even have a subtle way of manipulating people to fit their agenda. They are called toxic relationships.

James says in 4:1, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.”

Your tight schedule prevents others from reaching out to you due to your high expectations. Your needs aren’t getting met the way you anticipate. Am I right? You think you need to be self-sufficient because God hasn’t done the job of meeting your needs. As long as everyone else follows your rules and your agenda, then everything will be okay.

God fights on your behalf in the spiritual realm. He’s putting together all the pieces necessary to cover your needs. God is aligning people and events to bless you beyond your agenda. He planned all your blessings before you were formed. Now He waits with expectation for those days when He will share them with you. But you have to get out of the way. You have to drop your agenda and stop fighting to gain your desires.

Keep your own agenda, and you’ll never have your peace back.

To Avoid Peace, Don’t Ask for Help

Maintaining your agenda goes hand in hand with not asking for help. Most often, when we have a plan to help us meet our own needs, it keeps us from asking for help, even from God.

It’s no wonder James says, “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” He’s trying to say that asking God for help with the right intentions is the best approach; there’s no need to fight to get your needs met.

You lose peace when you seek worldly gain or worldly pleasures. When you stop asking God for your needs, your peace vanishes.

So, to avoid peace, don’t ask for help.

To Avoid Peace, Be the World’s Best Friend

Any connection to the world is trouble. I speak from experience because of all the alcohol and drugs I consumed in the first 45 years of my existence.

I became a friend of the world. I did not outwardly “hate” God, but I used alcohol and drugs as a way to self-medicate my deep pain. James woke me to my absolute hatred toward God when he said, “… don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God” (4:4)? His words surprised me and unveiled strong emotions I hadn’t realized I had buried deep within myself.

You quickly lose your peace when you become a lover of the world because the love of the world means hatred toward God. My testimony proves my love for the world. You can’t serve both God and man. James calls this being “double-minded.”

James’ advice is this, “…Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (4:8b-10).

Don’t be the world’s best friend, or you’ll never get your peace back.

To Avoid Peace, Become an Island

One of my favorite sayings is “You’re not an island!”

What I mean is this: when things get tough, the tough tend to isolate. The actual euphemism is, “When things get tough, the tough get…” Going, right. Yeah, well, that isn’t entirely the truth.

The fact is, the tough aren’t that tough. You tend to have a thick skin because you feel the need to protect yourself. Protection means avoidance or minimal interaction with people, like an island’s lack of interaction with other land.

When life gets hard, in other words, when the devil is on the attack, don’t run from God, do what James 4:7-8a says. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

Don’t run from God during times of crisis. Submit yourself to Him, come close, and you’ll find Him close to you.

However, if you want to avoid peace, remain an island.

To Avoid Peace, Wear the Judge’s Robe

When you separate yourself from people and God, it’s easy to become judgmental.

James’ warning in 4:11-12 is clear. He says, “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who can save and destroy. But you, who are you to judge your neighbor?”

Who are you to judge your neighbor, your fellow Christian brother or sister? You use the faces of pride to judge, which eventually steals your peace. Cynicism quickly grows when you wear the judge’s robe. It’s challenging to restore peace after that.

Keep your judgmental attitude and forget your peace.

To Avoid Peace, Hang on Tight to Pride

Your pride can firmly keep you back from having peace. It controls each of the previous six points.

Your pride prevents you from receiving heavenly wisdom. It helps create your agenda. It stops you from asking for help, not only from God but also from others. And your pride causes you to believe you can be a friend to the world and the Spirit of God (double-minded). You remain independent while sitting back and judging everyone, as pride supports you.

Pride is a spirit killer. It comes to live with you when you think you need it, but then never leaves. What may have once been a protective defense mechanism can quickly become a toxic character defect.

I Befriended Pride

When I was 13 years old, I decided to walk away from God because of the pain I was receiving from the ones I thought were supposed to love me. I invited pride in to help me through those years. I didn’t realize it until recently that she never left.

She became an incredible friend on whom I could always rely. She helped me to not only feel better than everyone else but also to be better than everyone else (or so I thought). God revealed that I allowed this toxic friend to rule my life. He could not work on my character defects because I used “her” to protect myself. Although it was a painful process, God cut away pride from my heart. I had a long recovery process to receive complete healing from her cancerous presence.

Can I say pride is no longer an issue? No, I’m a human being. But I don’t fall victim to her attacks as often because I’m not just a person, I’m a spirit as well. You and I are the same. Live by the Spirit, not by your natural man (Romans 8:8-9).

James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” God is the one who will restore your peace when you humble yourself before him.

Restore Peace by Becoming a Farmer

We discussed at length how not to achieve peace. I’m sure by now you’re wondering, “Ok, then, how do I have peace?”

I have only a straightforward answer: Become a Farmer

Read James 3:18. It states, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

It starts with peacemaking – one who makes peace. When you plant peace, it grows. Eventually, as a farmer, you can harvest your crop. When you sow peace into the lives of others, you reap peace. James says you “reap a harvest of righteousness.” Righteousness means “approved by God through the blood of Jesus Christ.” When you give peace, you receive peace because God’s approval came through the blood of His son, which covers your sin.

Become a peacemaker and restore peace!

Conclusion

Do you want peace restored? If so, then do the following:

1.     Receive true heavenly wisdom through forgiving others.

2.     Stop fighting for the rights you think you deserve.

3.     Ask God and others for help.

4.     Cease to be a friend to earthly things. Submit to God. Let go of the world.

5.     Join the rest of the human race – don’t isolate.

6.     Stop judging your neighbor and allow God to work on them.

7.     Humble yourself before the Lord, repent, and He will lift you up.

8.     Sow peace into the lives of those around you, and you harvest the peace you grow.

Maybe you think you don’t have it in you to plant peace in others. Your “love bank” is empty. If so, it’s time to go to the one who can fill it up for you. Humble yourself, submit to God, and receive the peace you need to sow into the lives of those around you.

C’mon, let’s get your peace back!