False Peace

From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,
says the Lord. - Jeremiah 8:10-12

Many times we’d prefer peace to conflict, and for good reason. Not only is conflict uncomfortable, it takes a lot of energy and it also risks breaking the relationship. But false peace is worse.

When those who should have the wisdom to face reality instead cover it over, the obvious result is pain. It’s not like God is out there hunting for those who do this - God is simply saying that your actions have real consequences, and hiding from conflict inevitably brings pain.

Note in the passage that there’s a motive given for whitewashing conflict: greed. There’s a sense in which was want to fool others (and potentially ourselves!) in order to take something, whether that something as simple as a few more minutes of a quiet house or as big as the votes in a congressional district. We cover over brewing conflicts in order to gain in the process - and we hope that it won’t catch up with us.

Ask Jesus now if there are conflicts that you are hiding from, and if there are ways he’s inviting you to be a peacemaker.