THE CUSTODIAN OF PEACE

by Jorge D. Lomboy
December 16, 2014



They have everything they need and everything they want to enjoy life.  They are blessed with good health.  They are well-regarded and highly-respected by friends and associates.  They find themselves at the top to deserve VIP treatment wherever they are invited.  From a worldly standpoint, they are role models of success for they have everything in life.  But still, deep within their hearts something is missing amid success. 

 That something could neither be bought nor sold not only because it is priceless but also because it is intangible and weightless.  They try not to show that something is missing by appearing calm and placid on the exterior with a smile that improves their face value.  But beneath that smile is a torrent of restiveness that quibbles with their feelings and quivers with unrest.  And that something missing consists of five letters called peace.

Peace is not a product.  It is not a drug, it is not a pill and it is not a prescription.  Rich or poor, young or old, we all have a deep feeling of inadequacy in adequacy.  There are times when we feel insufficient with sufficiency.  There are moments when we feel insecure with security.  There are days when we feel unstable with stability.  There are hours when we feel uncertain with certainty.  And there are instances when we feel uncomfortable in comfort.  Something is terribly missing with feeling emptiness in abundance.  That emptiness within breeds a passion for self-destruction that has driven even the most successful to find peace in a bottle, drug addiction and suicide.  With a tortured mind and a tormented heart, they resort to alcohol and drugs for healing.

The Scriptures say that man does not live by bread alone.  That is why all throughout the history of mankind every generation has witnessed a transition of war and peace.  To this day we are living in a twilight zone of unpeaceful peace.  In a restless world every man, woman and child longs for peace more than ever.  We asked for peace but it was not given.  We sought peace but we didn't find it.  We knocked for peace and the door did not open.  War and peace continue to chill our lives especially since every nation has to prepare for war in time of peace and has to prepare for peace in time of war.  Our home is a war zone.  Don't talk to me about peace treaties for I want to know how we can find peace within every household.  I want to know if there is peace in broken relationships and in the broken homes of those who have mansions and limousines and enjoy banquets and feasts, music and laughter.

We have endured the pains of war, the pains of lawlessness, the pains of economic collapse, the pains of family failure, the pains of a ravaged earth and the pains of affluence.  Our endurance was tested in these recurring ordeals.  Our society is tormented for being under the gun.  We are destined to be plowed in the midst of crisis, danger, fear and death.  We are like pilgrims under reprieve waiting for mercy in clemency.  We sense that something devastating is about to happen.  We know that things cannot go on as they are.  History has reached a cul-de-sac and we are now embattled at high noon.  The time has come for us to realize that peace is the only panacea to all our turmoil.

The United Nations is not the custodian of peace.  Countries and nations sign peace treaties and have entered into peace agreements.  The markets are not the guardians of peace.  Countries and nations are engaged in trading goods and services and have signed mercantile contracts and commercial transactions.  All religions pray for peace in places of worship but no religion is the custodian of peace.  The diplomatic corps, the peace corps and every law enforcement agency are committed to the maintenance of peace but they are not custodians of peace.  Still, there is no peace in the streets, there is no peace in our homes and there is no peace in our souls.  If we can't find peace within ourselves, it is useless to find it elsewhere for we cannot give out something we do not have to begin with.

There is no peace in having power, there is no peace in having possessions, there is no peace in achieving success and there is no peace in having the glamour of honor.  My observations over the years have proven to me that while, power, wealth, success and honor help one secure the many comforts of life, that good health makes it easier to enjoy the good things in life and that power opens many doors, yet have I still known wealthy men of power to be filled with frustration.  I have concluded that refuge in peace in the midst of the rabble is the only way to appeasement.  Peace is the clear difference between a homeless child with a smile that lights up a room and the millionaire with a death wish.  Without peace we cannot maintain the balance during a painful time in our weakest hour.

I draw from the wells of someone who became somebody when he said that you can buy a golden bed but you cannot buy nice sleep, you can buy a drugstore but you cannot buy good health, and you can buy a library but you cannot buy wisdom.  Nice sleep, good health and wisdom are things money cannot buy.  And to that I might also add that nice sleep, good health and wisdom cannot buy peace.  There is nothing in this world of bills, bills and bills that can give us peace for peace is a gift not from man but a gift from God.  Until and unless we commend ourselves under the guardianship of a higher power, we will never live in peace.  We could not find peace on Wall Street, we could not find peace in the Chicago Loop and we could not find peace at the top of the highest building in the world.  Unbeknownst to all, we feel the presence to peace in places of worship.  There is peace when we fall to our knees and bow our heads for peace comes with humility.

Pressure, stress and tension detract from peace.  Anger, bitterness and hatred won't give us peace.  Hostility, indifference and lack of forgiveness can never give us peace.  For as long as these things are in our DNA, for as long as these things are in our blood, there will never be peace.  All these things fan the grievance in our thoughts and these thoughts become the fuel that ignites the war.  These things bring war within the family, war in the office, war in the streets, war between nations and war in the world.  War comes from mortals in our human being while peace comes from the eternal in our spiritual being.

War and peace fill the past, present and future.  It was what we saw yesterday, what we see today and what we will see tomorrow.  The peace we enjoy is but momentary and transitional as it is a product of armistice.  The search for peace never ceases and the yearning for peace will never end until we find the real custodian of peace.  With war and peace, our world is not the custodian of our peace.  With war and peace, the United Nations is not the custodian of our peace.  With war and peace, governments rigged by power struggle and corruption are not custodians of our peace.  War and peace are within our homes and churches, in our cities, communities and neighborhoods.  None of all the above is the real custodian or peace.  As long as there is mankind, there will be war for conflict and strife are inherent in our nature.  There will be no real peace in the world and peace in our lives until and unless we have peace with God and peace from God who is the only custodian of peace.