Diplomats Needed, Now!
A commentary by Robin Webber
United Church of pastor, Redlands and San Diego, California
What a big mess our world seems to be in. Hot spots all around this
globe are literally screaming out to be solved.
Think about it for a moment.
Crisis spots like North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon immediately
come to mind. Many of these tense geo-political crunch zones are seemingly
hopeless. Recently an Israeli politician was interviewed and she reminded
the reporter that she lives in a neighborhood where you can only hope
to choose from bad choices.
Even so, politicians and diplomats are circling the globe and hitting
the airwaves trying to mold world opinion towards possible solutions.
At the same time, the talk radio airwaves are full of pundits and "call-in aficionados," all
willing to give their 2 cents of advice. Sometimes the call is so good
it goes up to 5 cents.
Yes, people are legitimately worried and deeply frustrated as they
view what seems to be a global meltdown of dynamic proportions. But when
all is said and done, most of us will never be offered a chair at a Security
Council session at the United Nations or be involved in shuttle diplomacy
between the familiar dateline cities of the Middle East. Yet that doesn't
leave us with nothing to do!
If we're totally honest, there is probably enough happening in
our own sphere of influence that needs tending to. In other words, perhaps
our own front porch needs some sweeping before we go out to save the
world.
Diplomacy is defined in the dictionary as "the skill and tact
of dealing with other people." Now there is a thought to consider.
How often have we had people help us who weren't really helping
at all? It has been said the tactless are rarely wordless. Truth be known,
perhaps you have been the tactless party. Ouch!
So what do we do and where do we go? Did you realize there is a jewel
of a letter in the New Testament section of your Bible that has been
defined as a manual on Christian diplomacy? It's just a page long,
but priceless in its reach into the lives of others.
The Apostle Paul had a seemingly unsolvable dilemma on his hands. He
had a fugitive slave come to him in Rome who had run away from his master.
Big problem! What compounded matters was that both were church members.
What made matters even more complicated was finding common ground between
the two men.
The world's attitudes concerning these two men could be summed
up in the words of Aristotle who had commented, "that there could
be no friendship between a master and a slave, for they have nothing
in common; for a slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate
slave" (Barclay's Commentary on Ephesians and Galatians,
p. 179).
Talk about a non-starter for any meaningful resolutions. And yet, Paul
would step in as "that straw that stirs the drink" and would
ask each man to consider that they had a common Heavenly Father that
was asking them to be different than all that had gone before them.
The slave, Onesimus, would be asked to go home and face his master
in a social climate that reeked with vengeance toward run-away slaves.
Philemon, the slave owner, would be asked by Paul to treat his returned
slave differently than was the common practice.
Both men were going to have to do things differently because of something
they had in common—a calling from God. Both men were going to have
to move beyond that wall of fear that created panic inside of them, because
solutions always lie on that other side of the panic we feel.
And Paul? Well, the book of Philemon shows us that he was not lacking
in tact. In fact, maybe that's because he didn't use too
many words and recognized that the shortest point between two dots is
a straight line. Rather than talking about people, he motivated the grieving
parties to connect towards a better future.
What kind of a diplomat are you? How's your front porch looking?
Need some sweeping? If matters haven't been going so well in your
life, then take a look at Philemon.
As I said before, we may not be called to stand between the nation
of Israel and Hezbollah, but yes, being a practitioner of the human condition,
I'm sure we have some diplomatic exercises awaiting us much closer
to home.
 And
like Paul, be gentle with that broom when you go to sweep. And at the
same time, I recommend that you request or download—free of charge—the
special booklet we offer titled Making Life Work.
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