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Well, at Matthew 5:9,
Jesus gave a powerful reason
why it’s worth striving to be a peacemaker.
He simply said that a peacemaker
is a happy person.
It sounds like a very simple formula,
but being a peacemaker
certainly has its challenges.
I’d like to deal with one specific challenge.
It’s identified in James chapter 3.
So perhaps we can turn to James chapter 3,
and we’ll look at verse 5.
It says: “So, too, the tongue
is a small part of the body,
“and yet it makes great brags.
See how small a fire it takes
to set a great forest ablaze!”
And then we know
the truthfulness of verse 8:
“But no human can tame the tongue.
It is unruly and injurious,
full of deadly poison.”
So here we see the challenge
—taming the tongue.
That’s the challenge for a peacemaker.
The tongue is a muscular organ
that aids in eating, breathing, and speaking.
And it’s the function of speaking
that James refers to here.
Now, the Latin word, root word,
for tongue is lingua.
And you can think of English words
that derive from that Latin root,
such as “linguistic” or “language.”
And we use everyday expressions
that draw attention
to the role of the tongue,
such as “tongue twister,”
“slip of the tongue,”
“mother tongue,” “tongue in cheek,”
or “having a sharp tongue.”
But as James indicates,
“the tongue is . . . a fire”
with the ability to cause great damage.
It takes only a spark to set a forest aflame.
Thus, a peacemaker, though imperfect,
has to work very hard
to restrain his tongue when he’s provoked.
There are four fundamental tastes
that the tongue perceives:
sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
Now, sweet things
can be tasted on the tip of the tongue,
whereas those taste buds
along the side of the tongue
identify sour or salty sensations.
But bitterness is tasted
near the back of the tongue,
close by the throat.
And Bible writers compare
these functions of the tongue with speech.
For example, Job 34:3 says:
“The ear tests words
just as the tongue tastes food.”
And we’ll recognize Paul’s words
at Colossians 4:6, where he said:
“Let your utterance
be always with graciousness,
“seasoned with salt,
so as to know how you ought
to give an answer to each one.”
In other words,
a peacemaker’s speech will be in good taste.
Of course,
the reality is as stated
here at James 3:10
where he says:
“Out of the same mouth
come blessing and cursing.”
Or, in other words,
out of our mouth comes sweet or bitter words.
We may say kind things to people
in the ministry or in the congregation
but say bitter, or unkind, things to people
whom we live or work with.
Now, why is it
that we continue to fail in this way?
Jesus insightfully observed
that the tongue is a window
to what is in our hearts and minds
when he said at Matthew 12:34:
“For out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaks.”
So while bitter tastes
are sensitive to the back of the tongue,
bitter words leave a bad taste
because they come
from the back of the throat,
in other words, from deep within,
revealing what a person really thinks
in his heart.
Hence, speech is governed
by how we feel deep down about others.
Now, what do we see depicted in this slide?
We see depicted
whether we honor and respect another person,
which is shown by what we say.
Our sister is giving another sister
a piece of her mind.
You know,
once words come out of our mouth,
we cannot delete them
like words on a computer screen.
So when our words hurt those we love,
a peacemaker practices the art
of saying one word—“sorry”—
and meaning it,
as our sister is obviously doing
after she’s thought about what
the Bible says on the subject.
Now, let’s turn to Proverbs 12:18
because this verse
gives us a very good reason
as to why we should think
before we speak.
Proverbs 12:18 says:
“Thoughtless speech
is like the stabs of a sword,
but the tongue of the wise is a healing.”
The tongue can be like a dagger.
Harsh speech may leave emotional scars
that linger long after a dispute has ended.
Harsh speech, as well,
can be recalled when we feel low.
Have you ever found yourself doing that?
You feel low and you think
of some unkind remark that was made to you,
maybe years ago.
Conversely, words heal
if “the tongue of the wise” promotes peace.
Now, let’s just think of a Scriptural example
to illustrate this point.
We normally think
of Job’s physical suffering,
but it seems that words hurt him
as much as physical pain.
Let’s look at Job 19:2
to see an example,
and we see the setting illustrated
in our slide.
Job is describing the effect
of Bildad’s harsh words
when he says:
“How long will you keep irritating my soul,
crushing me with words?”
So he said:
‘How long will you crush me with words?’
—not upset me, not annoy me,
but crush me.
The critical words of Job’s “comforters”
were like a series of stabs.
They fill about nine chapters
of the book of Job,
and it must have deeply hurt Job
that his “comforters”
never once used his name.
No wonder he felt crushed!
I think you and I
would feel exactly the same way, wouldn’t we?
Now, this was the point
where Job could have gone
in one of two directions.
He could have said to himself
and resolved in his heart,
‘If I ever get out of this situation,
I am going to get even
with the three of you.’
But instead he chose
the path of a peacemaker.
Let’s look at Job 42:8,
as we see depicted in this slide.
Now, part way through verse 8,
Job gets this instruction from Jehovah:
“And my servant Job will pray for you.”
So it’s interesting that Jehovah says to him,
‘The way to make peace with your companions
‘and to put away any kind of ill feeling
is to pray for your “comforters.”’
Now, that’s a very interesting point
because praying for someone
who has deeply offended us
must be one of the greatest acts
of a peacemaker.
And we notice in verse 10,
it informs us
that only after Job prayed for them
that “Jehovah removed Job’s tribulation
and restored his prosperity.”
So these actions of Job described here
allowed him to let go of resentment
and to move on with the rest of his life.
By all accounts,
his next 140 years
were filled with happiness.
But more important, he was happy
because his actions
brought him peace with Jehovah.
So a peacemaker is happy
when he chooses the path of reconciliation
rather than one of retribution.
Now, finally, let’s just look at this aspect
of being a peacemaker
from another angle.
What about when we observe that a friend
is disturbing the peace of others?
Do we ignore it,
or do we act as a peacemaker?
Well, notice David’s observation
at Psalm 141:5.
It’s just the first part of this verse
that we want to draw attention to
at Psalm 141:5, which says:
“Should the righteous one strike me,
it would be an act of . . . love.”
Now, striking a friend doesn’t sound
like the actions of a peacemaker, does it?
In fact,
friends often shrink from giving reproof
because of fear
as to how it would be taken
and not wanting
that cherished relationship to suffer.
Now, paradoxically,
the ones prone to tread on the toes of others
are often those
who are the most sensitive to correction.
Yet, if we’re a true friend,
we will not withhold giving needed reproof.
Even kind words initially,
which end up healing an individual,
could cause pain,
just like medicine does
when applied to a wound.
But the benefit is
that if our friend applies the counsel,
his relationships will improve
and we will be happy
we took the initiative to be a peacemaker.
They say that the reason
a dog is everyone’s friend
is that he wags his tail
and not his tongue.
Well, we’re going
to have lots of conversations
where we wag our tongues
throughout the course of today.
The point is:
If we want to be a happy peacemaker,
may sweet words “seasoned with salt”
be on the tip of our tongue.

Paul Gillies: “Happy Are the Peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9)