What in the World is a Peacemaker?

and less prone to respond badly when disappointed in another. And bring peacemakers into our lives
when we stumble.
In Jesus' name, and for His people's sake, Amen.
Peacemaker III -- Favoritism
October 13 2009, 9:42 AM, by Doug Hallock
In my last two posts, I suggested that conflict can be represented by a simple equation: Want + Don't Get
+ Passion = Conflict. I also (following James and Jesus) suggested that we can easily "treat
murderously" folks with whom we are conflicted. Lastly, I suggested that a peacemaker is one who takes
the Risk to help both combatants as they Relax, Repent, and Reach toward one another in an effort to
restore a broken relationship. Then I suggested that a true peacemaker had to Require Effort Evenly of
both parties in a conflict. If a would-be peacemaker only requires the very difficult effort of peace on one
combatant while allowing the other combatant to continue his passionate and sinful attitudes and
practices, then he is committing what James calls favoritism and the Bible calls injustice.
Sadly, such mishandling of peacemaking opportunities is far more rampant today than any of us realize. It
happens in our places of work. It happens in our places of worship. It happens in our schools. It happens
in our politics. Hollywood, Wall Street, Main Street, the Vatican, Asia, Africa, North America and South,
injustice (favoritism) is practiced freely, bringing profit to its beneficiaries while robbing from its victims.
My T.G. blog is dedicated to encouraging the right handling of tension in the Church, and to exposing the
mishandling that goes on way too often. Favoritism, or the practice of injustice, occurs in many of the
churches, denominations, and ministries that make up Christ's Church. I'd like to describe for readers the
dynamics of favoritism and the cost of its practice to the body of Christ and her witness in the world.
Favoritism is a broad sin that conflicts blatantly with the biblical values of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
If you can picture the blindfolded woman holding the scales of justice, you can see what favoritism does.
Favoritism occurs when "blind justice" peeks under the blindfold to see who is being tried or considered
while weighing what benefit they might bring if treated favorably, or what risk they might bring if treated
unfavorably. We must grasp the selfishness of this sort of act: When considering someone's guilt or