Live With One Another Peacefully
"One Another" Study, Lesson 6
If you want to receive Grounded in the Bible’s weekly Bible studies in your inbox each week, you can subscribe here! Join us as we "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
The last few weeks in this study, we’ve looked at how we should interact with other Christians—we should fellowship with one another, encourage each other, and serve and support one another. This is great if you live and work with a community of Christians. But what about the vast majority of us who are surrounded by those who don’t believe in Jesus? Our neighbors, our co-workers, our family members, those we encounter out in everyday life—many of them are not Christians. How should we interact with them (Christians and non-Christians alike)? In the last two weeks of this study, we’ll answer these questions. In this lesson, we’ll focus on what it takes to live at peace with others.
Live in Harmony and Peace with Each Other
We see the command to live in peace or harmony with others three different times in the New Testament. Along with these verses, we learn how to live in peace with others.
Mark 9:50: “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
Romans 12:16-21: 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1 Thessalonians 5:13b-15: Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
These verses give us several ways to live in peace with others:
Do not be proud or conceited. This goes along with the idea of humility that we talked about in the Be Kind to One Another lesson.
Be willing to associate with people of low position. One good way to practice this is to do volunteer work or to be kind to those with jobs that don’t earn much respect, such as custodians and waiters/waitresses.
Do not seek revenge when someone hurts you. Repaying evil for evil or wrong for wrong doesn’t make this world a better place. Instead, it only brings distress and more evil. If you can use forgiveness rather than revenge, you will do much to bring peace to your world.
Do what is right and good. Rather than trying to hurt others back when they hurt you, do what is right and good. In this way, you will help those who do evil to recognize their evil and perhaps turn from their wicked ways.
Don’t let those who are idle and disruptive go unchecked. If you see someone causing problems for others, step in and talk to them about their actions and attitudes. Doing nothing when you see someone hurting others only contributes to the problem.
Encourage those around you. Encouragement is a great way to build others up and help them continue in their good work. We all need encouragement to keep going at times, and encouragement leads to more peace rather than strife.
Help those who are weak. Weakness can take on a lot of forms. Maybe you know someone who is physically weak, mentally or emotionally weak, or spiritually weak. As Christians, we can provide help in each of these areas. As we help those who are weak become strong, we also contribute to peace for them and for us.
Be patient with those around you. A lack of patience is a great way to lose all peace by promoting anger and frustration. By holding on to your patience, you promote peace instead.
We all have ways that we can do more to promote peace in our lives and in the lives of those around us. As you look at this list, what is one action that you can change to help promote peace in one area of your life? Maybe that’s having more patience with your kids. Maybe it’s not snapping back when someone says something mean to you. Maybe that’s saying thank you to your server at a restaurant. There are so many ways we can bring peace. As we are at the start of a new year, maybe this simple change will transform the year ahead.
Accept One Another
Another way to live peacefully with others is to accept one another.
Romans 15:5-7: 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Accepting other people doesn’t mean that you have to affirm everything they do, especially if you know they are actively pursuing sin in their life. But we can accept them in spite of their sin, knowing that treating others with kindness and respect and giving them room to make their own choices, good or bad, will do more to lead them to Christ than treating them with judgment and harshness if they don’t live up to your standards. If we keep in mind that Christ died for us while we were still sinners, then we can pass on that same acceptance to others. In this way, we bring glory to God by acting as Jesus did.
Deal with Each Other Justly
We can also live peacefully with others by treating them justly. This follows closely with the commands we studied above to not seek revenge and to do good to others.
Jeremiah 7:5-7: 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.
What does it mean to deal with each other justly? Being just means acting in a way that is morally right and fair. What type of just behavior do we see here? Not oppressing others, especially those who are weak or of lower position, not shedding innocent blood, and not following other gods. For many people, this will require a change in our ways and actions. Maybe you aren’t out there physically oppressing or killing people. I assume you aren’t. But sometimes even your thoughts and attitudes can cause you to act in ways that hurt others, even in small ways. Reflect on your life and your attitudes. What small change can you make to deal more justly with others? Commit to making that small change today.
Conclusion
After reading the verses in this lesson, are you convicted about changes you need to make in your life? What can you do to live more peacefully with your spouse and/or kids? Your neighbors? Your family? Your friends? Your co-workers? The strangers you come in contact with as you live your life? We all have room for improvement. As we start a new year, commit to one change you can make to live at peace with others.