“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. Matthew 10:34
This is a tough teaching in two main ways. First is because it is tough to live out in life. But second because it is hard to understand and then explain it to others. It truly, as are most things with God. It is something you have to live and learn from the school of hard knocks to understand. Otherwise it is simply another verse which means much of nothing, or you use it in a wrong way.
The first problem is when we think of peace we think of a simple easy life without any drama and or problems with others. Yeshua said “And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” From Luke 2:14 SWe put this together to mean we must try to please people with our actions and words to keep peace. However this is not what Yeshua is about, actually the opposite. Yeshua also said “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” Luke 19:42 This is what he said to the nation of Israel right before he died.
So the first point is we do not understand the things of God, starting with peace. SWe want to give peace as the world gives it and not as God gives it. The peace of the world is to be as agreeable as possible with everyone. Where the peace of God comes because you agree with God and do his will, doing this gives you a deep peace because you know he is with you and in you as long as you are in him and his doctrine, hearing and obeying his truth. Then no matter what happens to you, or what you face, you will not be rocked off your boat. I know worldly peace and Godly peace and the two are night and day different. Yet the man of the world (one who has not died unto himself and received the Holy Spirit) cannot differentiate between the two. And tries to walk a fine line between truth and not offending other people. It is tiring, and not doable.
So now hopefully this will make sense, when Yeshua said he will not bring peace but a sword. And why he said he would separate the sheep from the goats. The shaft from the wheat. Yeshua offended many people in his day because the people did not want to hear his truth and receive his idea of peace. They actually even killed him thinking they were doing the will of God and doing it to keep peace, because what he said brought a lot of problems to them because their religious doctrine was NOT built on sound doctrine of God. They had their man made rules which had little to do with what God expected. The men teachers today are no different than in the days of the prophets and the Jews when Yeshua walked the earth. The only difference is instead of sending prophets he sent the Holy Spirit and made disciples of those who would come to know him and hear him and obey him. And we are to spread the truth, maybe in the same way the prophets did, as an example I do not see myself as a prophet, but the things I do in pushing his Kingdom and way, it makes me the same as a prophet. I am definitely a disciple.
So here is the problem of God and men of the world. Men of God have learned how God sees things, how he defines things. And it is different from men. I know because I lived 40 plus years as a man in the flesh and know what I thought was God’s way and was not. And my wife keeps using a comment to me which tells me the same thing, she does not understand the ways of God. Many times she has said when talking about things of God, that I am lying to myself, making God to be what I want him to be to support my ways. This is instead of hearing God for herself and coming to understand who he is and what he wants. She bases her ideas or theology on what her church says, what she read in the bible, what her friends say and how she was brought up. She hardly ever spends quiet time alone with God to know what he says. Because the few times she does and hears him, it always agrees with what I have said. Always, not sometimes, always.
But the main point is in her mind I am the wrong one because problems keep coming to me in different ways from different people and she cannot see how it is of God? If these things keep coming it is me doing the wrong things and then using God as a scape goat. I wish it were true, it is easier in the short term to practice this political correctness approach to life and keep some sort of worldly peace. But the problem is we all ignore the outcome from doing this, and use terms like ignoring the elephant in the room. We cannot see in the flesh how the problems that come from trying to please the people short term rob them and yourself of the true peace of God. I watch my wife with this delicate balance between trying to stay in good relationships with her family and at the same time deal with the problems which come from this approach. I have even made predictions of things coming and what is she going to do? For example starvation from lack of money and food. I watch how lazy most of her family is, and when they get a little money how foolishly they spend it. And then on top of it make fun of us like we are crazy for how we handle our money and accumulated things.
Well now as this economy changes dramatically, it is starting to come to fruition. The other day one of her sisters asked her to work so she is able to eat. She said she would do anything including cleaning, anything. She is also in real estate which we both know has all but stopped. At least she is willing to work, or said she is. I have a feeling the others are going to expect us to feed them because we have and they don’t and we owe them. Using a poor little old me attitude.
I use this as an example of how trying to keep peace with the world, not rocking the boat too much regarding their unrighteous behavior and expecting us to support them in it instead of listening to good sound advice on how to set themselves up to deal with the 7 years of starvation. The story of Joseph comes to mind, he heard the the Lord, knew the meaning of the dream of the cows and they prepared accordingly. And so did we, I knew these hard times were coming and they are just starting. And I warned everyone about them. We saved and saved and were made fun of for doing it, they spent and spent and have a bunch of empty starbucks coffee cups and gucci hand bags and fancy cars which have depreciated a lot and expensive sunglasses to show for their work. Our times of accumulating our wealth was really over about a 7 year period ironically.
So now when the tough times come, what do we do? Feed the lazy ones? Or as Yeshua said about the lazy and wicked servant, take from him the little he has and give it to the one who has the most, then bound him hand and foot and throw him into the fire.
For me, knowing what we have is not enough to support her family along with ours. And knowing who they are, it does not bother me to see them suffer, and come to know the Lord as their provider. If we provide they will NEVER come to the Lord. I had my days of coming to know the Lord as my providor, not having enough to live, but somehow I always paid the bills. And through it I also came to know the Lord more deeply in all ways. I will not get in the way of anybody learning this lesson. However if the Lord also told me to give, I would give.
But the question becomes in trying to keep peace for someone like my wife, how do you do it in this situation? If you give to your family, it takes away from your personal family until we do not have anything either. But if you do not give to her bothers and sisters, mom and dad and they starve, then what? How can you have peace in that? But the problem is you created it because you choose the peace of the world and trying to balance things instead of the sword of God which brings results.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 Does this verse not describe exactly what I am saying if you really think on it in the Spirit? Of course it does. The word the Lord teaches is extremely difficult and hardly anyone wants to go their in discussing things because it destroys worldly peace, not the peace built on the Lord. Where knowing the “word” which is Yeshua, and obeying him cuts deep, it changes you with major surgery, it hurts. We do not want to hurt anyone, so our religion waters down the “word” and makes the bible the word or a man teacher who gives you doctrine you prefer to believe because it tells you that this political correct balance act is the way of God. It is far from the way of God and makes you a goat, not a sheep. We must be ready in and out of season. We must be like the 5 virgins who had oil in excess and not like the 5 who did not and had to run into town to buy some and missed out on when the bride groom came. Which use this verse also as the example. The 5 who had, could have shared but did not because they knew it would leave them without. Each person is responsible for preparing themselves before the Lord. Our job is not to make an easy lazy selfish life for others (although the men teachers make it like that). Our job is to lead others to Yeshua and let him make them into what they need to be. Focusing on the Kingdom and eternity and not on this short life time. I know because of what I went through, it sucked a lot. But it is also the time in my life where I learned more about God and who he truly is than any other time. We gain from the things we suffer, count them as good times and not bad.
Back to the first verse to tie this up, Yeshua does bring a sword and division. I see it all the time, even in my relationship with my wife. I refuse to be swayed to worldly peace and jeopardize Godly peace and my salvation. Because the two are intertwined. And my wife because of the blindness she has in this aspect does not believe I am living righteously with God because it does not bring worldly peace. She has this worldy view that because we are blessed financially we are to give to the lazy ones who don’t work and spend foolishly, because that is what the worldly religions push and my wife does not want to see her close family suffer.
Again if the Lord says give, I give even to the lazy ones. But if he does not say it I don’t, I refuse to allow my ideology get in the way of the Lord’s work.