Good Success Day #22: The Courage of the Peacemaker
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” — Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
THE JOURNEY
Liam was a department head known for being “the nice guy.” He hated tension. If two employees were arguing, Liam would awkwardly change the subject or tell them to “just shake hands and move on.” If a client was unreasonable, Liam would apologize profusely just to make the awkwardness go away.
He thought he was being a Christian leader. He thought he was keeping the peace.
But underneath the surface, his department was a toxic swamp. Because Liam refused to address the small conflicts, they festered into massive resentments. His top performers were frustrated because the underperformers were never corrected. Gossip was rampant because no one felt safe speaking the truth openly.
One day, his best employee resigned. In her exit interview, she told him the hard truth: “Liam, you think you’re creating harmony, but you’re actually creating chaos. You are so afraid of a ten-minute difficult conversation that you are forcing us to live in a permanent state of dysfunction.”
Liam realized he wasn’t a peacemaker; he was a peacekeeper.
Peacekeeping is passive. It is the avoidance of conflict at all costs. It puts a rug over the dirt and pretends the room is clean.
Peacemaking is active. It is the courage to lift up the rug, sweep out the dirt, and do the hard work of scrubbing the floor. Liam had to learn that true peace is not the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice and resolution. He started having the hard conversations. He called out the gossip. It was uncomfortable and messy at first, but for the first time in years, his team actually felt safe.
Heart of the Matter
In the Beatitudes, Jesus doesn’t say “Blessed are the conflict-avoiders.” He says blessed are the peacemakers.
The Greek word for “maker” here implies a construction worker. Peace is something you build, not something you just hope happens.
Many of us believe that “Good Success” means everyone likes us all the time. But if you are unwilling to engage in healthy conflict, you cannot lead, you cannot parent effectively, and you cannot maintain deep intimacy in marriage.
Here is the dynamic of relational Good Success: You love God by stepping into the mess. God is the ultimate Peacemaker—He didn’t avoid our sin; He entered into the chaos of the world to resolve it at the Cross. You imitate Him when you refuse to let resentment grow. You love Him by caring enough about a relationship to have the awkward conversation that will heal it. He loves you back by giving you the authority of a “Son of God.” Notice the promise in Matthew 5:9—peacemakers are identified as His children. When you resolve conflict with grace and truth, you look exactly like your Father. He backs you with the wisdom and courage needed to turn a battleground into common ground.
Faith in Action
Most conflicts become monsters simply because we feed them with silence.
The Challenge: Is there a conversation you have been avoiding with a spouse, a coworker, or a friend? A boundary that needs to be set? An apology that needs to be made?
- Today, exercise “10-Minute Courage.”
- Schedule the talk. Don’t do it over text.
- Start with: “I value our relationship too much to let this thing stand between us. Can we talk about [Issue]?”
- Remember: The goal is not to win the argument; the goal is to win back the relationship.
Prayer for the Day
Prince of Peace, I confess that I am often a coward. I hide from conflict to protect my own comfort, calling it ‘patience.’ But I see now that avoidance is not love. Give me the courage to be a true peacemaker today. Give me the wisdom to speak the truth in love, without anger but without fear. Help me to build bridges where there are walls. I want the Good Success of relationships that are clean, honest, and fully resolved. Amen.
SUCCESS Note
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” — Martin Luther King Jr.