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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

John 14:27

I was working my way through a book of scholarships just now, when I heard myself mumbling "But I don't believe in world peace." There are. There are a lot of essay contests about world peace. Which I should probably enter if I want to go to college, but, it feels boundlessly hypocritical to write an essay and enter a contest touting something I don't believe in. Hypocrisy is kind of an inescapable reality.

I wonder if it's particularly heinous of me to not want to support world peace. That's what I mean by not believing in it, right? That I don't want to support it? I suppose my justification is that I don't believe world peace is possible. But then, I don't believe ending world hunger is possible, but I still give money and play Free Rice and hand out food. Just because something isn't possible doesn't mean I don't support it. [Whoa. Negatives.] I'm not that much of a hardened realist. So, that can't be it.

I think maybe I don't support world peace because I believe war is sometimes necessary. Do I believe that? I believe war is never a good thing. But, maybe a necessary evil. I'm trying hard to remember Rebecca's musings on pacifism from last year. I'm cursing the transience of human memory. I don't like thinking about war. For all my quasi-feminist rants, I'm glad I didn't have to register with the draft. That's selfish of me. But there it is.

Maybe I ought to support world peace. Peace is a good thing. Or rather, peace only happens when other good things happen: order, justice, liberty. I support those things, really and truly. So maybe I do support peace. If I support order and justice and liberty, if I want those things for every place in the world, if I pray for the people and governments of North Korea and the Land of Sheba, does that mean I support, I believe in world peace?

I don't believe peace should be maintained in the absence of order and justice and liberty. And oh, how there is an absence of those things. When, when will Your kingdom come?

1 comment:

Micah E. said...

"Everone believes in how they think it ought to be."