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Increasing Peace
Isaiah 9:7
"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
Peace seems to be the cry of the world. When you look at political leaders, they all talk about having world peace. Churches desire to have peace in their congregations. Christians want peace with other Christians outside of their congregation. Families want peace between family members. Yet, peace is not a possession that someone holds. You can't legislate peace. You can't decide to have peace. The reason is because peace is a byproduct of actions.
In the verse above, God tells us there will be world peace someday. That day will be when God comes to set up His kingdom during the Millennial Reign. In the verse above, you find the elements that will cause the world to have peace. In fact, it will not just cause peace, but it will cause peace to increase. If every leader would practice the steps that God will perform to set up peace, then they will discover peace in their own realm.
The first step for peace is having clear boundaries of authority. You will notice that God will have a government. That means there will be different positions of authority that God will set up. In order for peace to increase in your realm, every position of authority must be clearly defined in what they will do. You will not have peace when the roles of authority and what they can and cannot do is not clearly defined.
Second, you must have organization. You will notice that there will be order in God's government. Likewise, you must have organization in whatever you are trying to accomplish if you want peace. Disorganization causes unrest and disharmony. This is why it is highly important to make sure there is organization in what you do.
Third, there must be judgment for peace to increase. Judgment is achieved through several venues. First, judgment requires decisive decision making. When leadership won't make decisions, then you will have unrest. Second, there must be clear rules by which all must live. Judgment cannot be achieved when there are no clear rules. In other words, rules must be established so that everyone will know what is expected of them. Last, there must be a clear direction. Rules are important, but the direction of philosophy must also be defined for you to have judgment. In other words, what are you trying to accomplish? Judgment consists of these three things.
Last, for peace to increase justice must be practiced. Once judgment is set in place, then justice must be enforced. Justice is being fair with all enforcement of all the rules. There can be no favorites for justice to be achieved. Likewise, justice consists of just punishment. In other words, everyone must experience the same punishment for the same violation. If you punish one person but not the other, then you will find that peace will flee away. Justice is the key final element for peace to increase.
If these steps are followed, then peace will be established. Whether it is a church, business, nation, school, or family, these steps allow peace to increase if followed. You must remember that peace is not an object you hold, it is a byproduct of following the steps listed above.