1 Samuel 11:2 (NKJV)
“And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, ‘On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.’”

We are peacemakers and children of peace, but we don’t pursue peace at the cost of our core convictions. We want to make peace with everyone possible, but it should not be to the detriment of our core values. Peace is important, but not at all costs.

Satan knows we want peace, and he will offer us conditions that include denying who we are and the faith we hold so dear. He will taunt us and seek to intimidate us to accept peace on his own terms. But we must refuse peace offered by Satan and on his terms. Any contract on Satan’s terms will break your walk with Jesus.

From this story, Nahash was willing to make peace with God’s people on the condition that he remove their right eyes and bring shame to the nation. The NLT says he wanted to bring, “disgrace” to the nation. Peace that brings disgrace to God’s nation is not God’s type of peace. Peace that removes your ability to see, is not God’s type of peace.

Scripture says, “As long as it lies within your power, be at peace with all men,” but sometimes, it is beyond your power to be at peace with a man. Sometimes, it is beyond Biblical injunction to oblige the terms of peace being offered. We want peace, but the terms of peace must be acceptable to the Lord and to our value system.

Satan’s singular purpose in life is to bring us shame through deceit, and we need discernment to know how he operates around us. We need to listen with the ears of God, so we know when to accept a peace deal and when to walk away. It is not wrong to refuse peace if peace breaks your core convictions. It’s better to be a John the Baptist in prison for your convictions than a compromised Judas Iscariot.

Blessed are the peacemakers. We are people of peace. We pursue peace. We are willing to do almost anything for peace to reign. However, we will never allow Satan to use the pretext of peace to glory over the name of Jesus and the purpose of God. There is a time to reject peace. There is a time for war!