Living in Peace With Everyone When Your Flesh Wants to Fight Back
- meetgodattheedgeof
- Nov 20
- 3 min read
Romans 12:17–18
“Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”
I’ll be honest—living in peace with everyone is not always my first instinct. In extreme circumstances, especially when someone mocks or attacks a person for something they can’t change, something rises up in me. It makes my blood boil. And God help the person who says something cruel about my wife or kids.
But when I take a step back and really examine that emotion, I can see two things happening at once. On one hand, God designed me with a deep desire to protect my family and those who need help. That’s part of who I am as a husband, a father, and a man. On the other hand, my flesh takes that God-given instinct and pushes it too far—moving me toward anger, retaliation, and sin.
Yet God calls us to something higher. Instead of blowing up or letting anger lead the way, we’re commanded to be honorable and strive for peace—basically the opposite of what my flesh wants. So how do we actually do that? How do we dial it back in the heat of the moment, calm our emotions, and choose living in peace with everyone instead?
The truth is simple and humbling: it’s impossible on our own.
This kind of self-control, compassion, and peace only comes from a deep relationship with our Heavenly Father. As we intentionally seek Him day after day, our spiritual vision begins to shift. The closer we walk with God, the more clearly we see like God.
We begin to recognize evil and sin for what they are—and we hate them. But then something else happens: we begin to see the sinner. And we realize that person is loved by God just as much as we are. That separation—seeing the sin without condemning the person—is one of the keys to living in peace with everyone.
I’ve got a co-worker who struggles to separate personal life from work. I sympathize with how difficult that must be, but after eight months of sudden blow-ups, misunderstandings, and tension, it wears on me. I catch myself being short with them, and I can’t stand that feeling. It makes work uncomfortable, and it reveals parts of my heart that still need God’s refining.
But I know what the Lord wants from me in this situation:
To be respectful even when I’m disrespected.
To love even when I’m not loved.
To treat them the way I want to be treated.
That’s what living in peace with everyone looks like in real life—not just in theory.
Romans 12:19–21
“Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord. [20] Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’ [21] Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
Living this out doesn’t mean we’re weak—it means we trust the One who fights our battles. It means surrendering our instincts so God can shape our reactions. It means choosing honor when anger is easier.
Father, thank You for another day. Teach us to conquer evil by doing good and to walk out living in peace with everyone—even when our flesh wants to fight back. Amen.
