Pray for world peace… seeking inner peace…
In my last blog I set out to think about some of the weightier words in the English language. My first “weighty word” is peace. So how is this simple engineer going to tackle unpacking a word that is so fundamental to our existence? I’m going to check the dictionary definition of course! What the heck, let’s check two dictionaries…
Dictionary Definitions
The Merriam-Webster definition for peace has 5 entries which I summarize as:
- A state of tranquility and quiet in a community
- Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
- Harmony in personal relations
- Mutual concord between governments
- An interjection - basically calling out “peace” either to ask for calm or just as a greeting (“Peace, man!”).
The Oxford Learners definition for peace has just 3 entries:
- No war or violence
- State of calm or quiet
- Living in friendship without arguing
These are all solid definitions for the word peace.
As we look at all of these definitions and uses for the word peace, perhaps we can group them into applying it to external things versus internal things, so we end up with just two definitions for peace:
- External peace = lack of trouble, war, violence, or noise.
- Internal peace = lack of fear or worry.
These concepts are wonderful in themselves. To have no wars or troubles in the world would be idyllic. But equally, to have no fear or worry about anything - to have no racing in your mind about what might happen next - that’s also a wonderful thought.
Application
So, having a definition is good, but how do we apply this to our lives? We all want both kinds of peace, right? I’m no sociologist but it seems to me that true peace is tough to find. I live in a country and a community where day to day the majority of people live in peace with each other, but people seem more anxious than ever. It seems like we either have external stresses that rob us of peace (war, fighting, troubles) or we trade them in for our own internal stresses through worry and fear (about health, finances, relationships… whatever). In my own personal experience I have struggled in the past with anxieties about health matters, that turned out to be psychosomatic in a nasty vicious cycle that about drove me nuts. I had a panic attack once which was no fun, I can tell ya.
True and lasting peace is elusive.
Shalom
I can’t talk about peace without thinking about the Hebrew word “shalom” (and I think the Arabic “salaam” is similar - at least Wikipedia says so!) I’m not an English scholar which makes my discussion about English words a little shaky. Now take that to the next level with me trying to talk about Hebrew words and I may be way out of my depth! But please bear with me and hopefully even my rudimentary understanding of the word might be helpful.
The word “shalom” can be translated into English to mean “peace” in the same way that we think of peace as discussed above, but it goes a little further. Embedded in the concept of shalom is the idea of everything being in its rightful place or complete in some way. If you don’t have shalom, you’re missing something, somehow. In my engineer’s brain, the word shalom = peace + completeness. If we are keen to find peace, then we should perhaps be even keener to figure out shalom. If we can discover this shalom then maybe we now understand peace a little better?
As I was searching for information on shalom, I came across this article which digs into the meaning of the word. It’s a neat article and worth a read. The gist of the article is that shalom is really about being at peace with God. It’s about being restored and reconciled to God. That’s pretty cool. If you have shalom with God, then have inner peace (or shalom in yourself), and so are better equipped to have shalom with those around you.
My own experience is that this is true. As I’ve found peace with God, I have peace in my own mind, whatever is going on in the world around me, and I’m generally peaceable with the people around me. Jesus said; “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” That’s the peace I’ve found.
