Article April 14, 2003 Issue

Becoming an instrument for peace

By Annu Matthai—Vienna, Austria

There was a song I loved to sing when I was in school. It began like this: "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace." I loved the music, but the words never seemed very important to me. And I haven't thought about that song in a long, long time. That is, not until a few days ago.

In recent weeks, it seems that I've been hearing details of chemical, biological, nuclear, and a whole list of other kinds of weapons. And I've felt that I needed to shift my focus from these instruments of war. As I was thinking about how to go about changing my perspective, the first line of that long-forgotten song popped into my mind—"Make me an instrument of Thy peace." Yes, I thought, that's what we need now—instruments of peace.

But how do I go about being a peace instrument? I couldn't remember the rest of the song, only that there was something about sowing love instead of hatred. Well, that was a good place to start. And so, when an aggressive driver cut in front of me in heavy traffic, I resisted the feeling of irritation. Perhaps he needed to get somewhere in a hurry. God would see that he and I were each in the right place at the right time.

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The peace of God
April 14, 2003
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