Peace and Contentment.

Jeremiah 6:13-14
13 "From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
'Peace, peace,' they say,
when there is no peace.

How do you define peace? The problem with instinct in this case is that the first definition of the word that comes to mind can be misleading. Traditionally and politically, peace would be the opposite of war, correct? However, peace can also be defined as living in harmony while in a relationship; little disagreement; tranquility within yourself. There's peace from an exterior perspective and there's peace from an internal perspective.

Notice how Jeremiah describes the people as being greedy, and as a result, they become discontented. Their thoughts were misled and skewed. In verse 14, it describes the people covering up the problem as if nothing ever happened. Similar to when a stack of books hides your all important pen, the people's greed is being covered up by ignoring their inner emotions.

Are you doing the same thing to yourself? Are you putting a band-aid on the problem to cover up the sore without putting ointment creme on it first. If so, you're robbing yourself of that inner peace that you deserve. You may be pretending that everything is hunky dory on the outside, but on the inside it really isn't. This often shows up in relationships. Even though it seems difficult to confront the person directly, and the pain of holding it in may seem like a quick cover up, an inner peace can't ever be gained that way.

Talk to God if you're having a challenging time getting rid of the junk. Discuss the situation with the person who is involved in it. Chances are, they're in the same boat - trying to get over the hump - looking for inner peace just like you!

"Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviors, their beliefs, bring you an inner peace and tranquility -- instead of anger and resentment." ~Unknown