Peace at What Price

“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, Peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
They do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen,
they will be brought down when they are punished,”
says the Lord. Jeremiah 8:11-12



When I first read the words, “they dress the wounds of my people as though it were not serious” I felt a bit convicted. I’m a fixer. That’s nice and can be helpful, if the situation requires an easy fix, a few “there there’s” or a nice snack. I can offer a listening ear and even, on occasion a bit of decent advice but sometimes I’m tempted to put a Band-Aid on a patient needing open heart surgery simply because I can’t stand to see him or her hurting. The quick fix can often be more harmful than no help at all as it gives a false sense of healing or acceptance.

On further reflection I saw the words as a bit more severe. This is the state of our world today. These words do two things for me. First they affirm that this is truly the Word of God. What was true in Jeremiah’s day is true today. This is prophecy for sure. The second thing was that I can see by reading these words that I am not overreacting to the state the world is in nor am I wrong when I realize how few people are really aware of this. On the second and third read through I could almost hear the voice of one of my favorite people in the world, my little friend Brianna. She loves to say, “That’s what I’m taltin’ [talking] ‘bout.” Yes, Bree-bree, this is what we’re talking about and if we aren’t we should be.

In an effort to have “peace, peace” and not rock any boats we ignore far more important words like “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) We offer platitudes about love and tolerance to people behaving in abhorrent ways. We allow sin to run rampant in the form of heinous display of disrespect to the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the name of peace. We don’t want to be judgy. We’re Christians after all and it’s all about love. Love, yes, but what kind of love? Real love that invites us to grow and become more like Jesus? Or look the other way love that isn’t really love at all?

Jesus in following the will of his Father, told us to love everyone, not just our neighbors, but our enemies as well. Why? Turns out they are also considered our neighbors. If we truly love them do we offer them some kind words or a nice cookie when what they really need is a wake up call?

The verses above point out that the blatant sinners of Jeremiah’s day were not ashamed. I love the words “they don’t know how to blush.” Seems like then, as is true now, nothing was sacred and nothing was private. Go ahead air your dirt laundry, no one is going to say a word. We want “peace, peace” you know.

No! We want to live as God intended. We’re all sinners but as my friend B.E. says, the difference between the saints and the rest of us is that they know how to repent faster. Faster? Heaven help us, people these days and apparently in Jeremiah’s time didn’t feel compelled to repent at all. Note the last bit of the Scripture, it says that behavior will not go unpunished. God does love us. He loves us enough to say, “You, my dear, are way out of line.” I believe he asks us to love each other enough to do the same. He instructs us to do so all through the Scripture, Matthew 18:15-19 and Ephesians 4:15, to name just two.

Peace is lovely. I wish there were more of it in my own life but I won’t compromise God’s word to get it. God’s way is the right way, all of the time and that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.