Daily Devotional, Aug 24, 2023 The Peacekeeper

“And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

James 3:18

I forgot where I read it, but I was told that once you become a mom of two kids, you are no longer a parent — you are already a referee. And I agree, there are times when I feel like I am a referee to my three kids who seem to disagree, fight, or even brawl about the littlest of things. It could sometimes be tiring, if not frustrating already but the bible tells us to pursue peace all the time: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

When the children seem to fight endlessly, I sometimes zone out and wish that I could just be  a scorer, taking note of the physical and verbal “hit points” earned by each child. But then again, I am a referee, and referees do not just stop fights, their most important role in my opinion is to enforce rules. One of the most apt bible verses we can use in my opinion is that which is found in the Gospel of Matthew:  “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Matthew 5:22. I had each of my children write this verse down and I let them read it each time they are seriously angry at each other.

As a parent, we are bound to be the peacekeepers in our homes. We have to model peacemaking in our lives by being humble and not quarrelsome at all (Romans 12:18). Our responsibilities do not just end at stopping each fight and enforcing the rules, our role as their parents is to ensure that they fully understand why we would like them to live peaceably with everyone in their lives.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read James 3:13-18 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: How do you keep your home peaceful? How do you teach your children to stay peaceful amongst each other?

Conversation with the Lord: Almighty Father, please guide me as I try my very best to keep peace at home. I take it as my responsibility to make my home peaceful for everyone, so please give me the strength to be the peacemaker in my family. Amen.