Peace from a Distance

"It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh." Galatians 6:12-13

Many times in our lives, in an effort to find peace, we remove people from our lives. This is often done by forcibly removing somebody from your life or by removing ourselves from the lives of others by no longer associating with them. There are many reasons for wanting to remove people from your life. One particular article gave five reasons for cutting people out of your life. The first reason is when you are no longer happy to see someone come around. "There comes a time when things –– and people –– no longer bring you joy or happiness. It is a sign that there is a need for change, and you have to take the initiative to switch things up." The second reason is that a person is offering nothing but negativity. "Individuals who always want to criticize other people show a sure sign of wasting valuable time and energy on the wrong things and, ultimately, are not deserving of yours." The third reason given for cutting someone out of your life is when they want (or take) more than they can give. "When you start to feel used or taken advantage of, mentally or spiritually, cut it off quickly." The fourth reason mentioned is when you can no longer trust them. "When the bond is broken or betrayal irreparably sets in, find the exit." The fifth and final reason is when they are no longer supportive. "Those with a true desire to watch you win in life don’t care to offer endless pats on the back or overlook your weaknesses –– they actively push you to be the best version of yourself. Stay clear of those who bring you down rather than lift you up." These are all good reasons to separate ourselves from people who are toxic and don't add any redeeming value to us or our lives. The article concludes with this advice: "All things, including people and feelings, change. When they do change, it is only fair for all parties involved to move on. Every decision you make has a direct impact on your future. As a result, you should never feel guilty for making choices that are in your best interests. You must remember: It’s your life." Removing toxic people from our lives is always a good thing to do. It is even something that extends to the family of believers when matters of our Christian faith are at stake. We see an example of this in the pages of scripture.

It is no secret that the Apostle Paul and many of the other leaders of the early Christian church had their differences. Those differences mostly centered around the issue of Law and Grace and how believers are to live in regards to the Old and New Covenants. Shortly after Paul's conversion, he found himself in Jerusalem and in a disagreement with some Greek-speaking Jews known as the Hellenists. The disagreement rose to the point where the Hellenists plotted to kill Paul. In order to protect Paul, and keep the peace in Jerusalem, the "brothers... brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus (Acts 9:30)." In other words, the Christians in Jerusalem shipped Paul out of town. The very next verse details the results of their actions; "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied (Acts 9:31)." Once Paul was out of town, the church in Jerusalem experienced peace and the Lord used them to add to the body of believers. However, why would the believers have peace with other groups, but Paul did not? Could it be due to the differences in what was being taught? In his letter to the Galatians, Paul rips into the church in Galatia. He calls them "foolish" and "bewitched" because as he asks them, "Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh (Galatians 3:3)?"  Clearly, the church in Galatia had fallen from grace and back to the works of the law. Somebody had taught them that they needed to have the Law, whether in full or in part, in their lives in order to live out the Christian faith and Paul was upset by this because his teaching had been undermined. What this says is that the reason the church in Jerusalem found peace was, in my opinion, they were teaching the Law to the body of believers and thus were not in any opposition to the Jews in their midst. After all, if what Paul believed and was teaching had put his life in jeopardy, then what the rest of the church was teaching had to be different. Paul was teaching grace and the rest of the church was teaching the Law. That is why Paul concluded his letter to the Galatians with a warning about those who wanted them to be circumcised; Christians trying to put them back under the law. While I believe what Paul taught was the Gospel in its fullest expression, obviously, the separation of the two parties was still used by God. Paul was "toxic" to many of the other churches because he understood the grace of God. And they were "toxic" to Paul's teaching because they didn't understand it. It was best to separate from each other because it was clear that they weren't getting long, had constant negativity, could not be supportive of each other, had little trust among each other and didn't have much to offer to each other. While God desires unity among His children, He can still use us even when there is disunity. It was Paul who wrote, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18)." Sometimes in order to live peaceably with everyone, you have to separate yourselves from each other.