Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). So important is peacemaking that it is highlighted by Christ as one of the central and distinguishing characteristics of God’s children. Who doesn’t want to hear our Lord calling him or her one of His children and to know that their light is shining brightly as family members of the Prince of peace?

Blessed are the peacemakers, especially when, as today, common are the peace-breakers. Social media favors the less personal and accountable forms of communication, in which it is easy to speak evil and to gossip even without knowing the person one is addressing. Our trusted news sources are quick to publish biased reports and trendy gossip. Perform a check on the home page or front page of your favorite news source and determine what percentage of the articles are “hard news” pieces that are important to your understanding of the world. Are your sources helping or hindering your role as a child of God and a light in the world?

Digital devices and media seem to have skewed our communication toward the less personal. In-person talks and phone calls have largely been replaced by brief messages at a distance, to the point where we are losing our ability to graciously use some of the most powerful methods. Jonathan Parnell’s article (read here) demonstrates this.

What is sorely needed is not a tweak to our interpersonal communication but a complete overhaul. Your first impulse in responding to conflict is typically not the best one, and the first communication medium at your fingertips is unlikely to be the best. I often have this mental picture in my head when seeking to resolve a conflict, assuming that I should use stronger means of conflict resolution for tougher conflicts.

Witness readers in the U.S. are coming off an election that has emphasized some divides more than it has brought peace. We have our work cut out for us. Let’s work toward the goal illuminated by Matthew Henry as he spoke on Matthew 5:9: “Industriously, as far as we can, to preserve the peace that it be not broken, and to recover it when it is broken; to hearken to proposals of peace ourselves, and to be ready to make them to others; where distance is among brethren and neighbours, to do all we can to accommodate it, and to be repairers of the breaches. The making of peace is sometimes a thankless office, and it is the lot of him who parts a fray, to have blows on both sides; yet it is a good office, and we must be forward to it.”