| Matthew 5:24 – “leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.” |
Having peace within our work setting or personal life can be elusive at times. This can be resultant of being in high stress and frantically paced situations. During such times, exchanges of harsh words, divisiveness because of conflicting approaches towards challenges, and/or personality clashes can exacerbate an already tumultuous situation. Alternatively, peace may be threatened because of long standing resentment or disagreement with someone.
When facing such difficulties, today’s text suggests an approach for helping restore peace and cohesiveness. The first of these is deciding reconciliation is a priority.
Secondly, we must determine that we are the one needing to seek reconciliation. This may include a variety of actions, including choosing to forgive someone, offering an apology, respectfully listening to someone as they share their concerns, and/or asking those we are in conflict with to meet together to identify ways of bringing resolution.
Our willingness to become the one seeking reconciliation can be integral to bringing peace to our work settings and personal lives.
Dear God, thank you for your love and kindness. Please guide me to mirror your eternal spirit to those around me, just as you have blessed me; help me to be a source of help and a blessing to others. In Jesus name, Amen.
- Phyllis Hooten
