A Call To Leadership

EP310: Blessed are the Peacemakers with Joe Thompson and Travis Revelle

• Dr. Nate Salah

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Effective Christian leadership requires peacemaking, not peacekeeping. In this episode, the hosts explore the Beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers” and explain how internal peace drives healthier leadership, conflict resolution, and faith-based decisions in business and family life. Listen now to learn why courage and clarity are essential to lasting peace.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

  • How peacemakers actively create peace instead of avoiding hard conversations
  • The key difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking, and why it matters
  • Why internal peace must come first before external peace is possible
  • How true peacemaking requires courage, strength, and emotional maturity
  • When walking away is not failure, but a necessary act of peacemaking

Resources Mentioned In This Episode


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[00:00:00] Travis Revelle
God is telling us that you will never have external peace until you have internal peace. So it's not selfish to look at it and say, I need to remove myself from this situation for my internal peace. 

[00:00:19] Dr. Nate Salah
Hey fellas!

[00:00:20] Travis Revelle
How's it going? 

[00:00:21] Dr. Nate Salah
Welcome. Hello. Welcome back. We are on our seventh of eight Beatitudes, and that we had a great revelation last week. A bay attitudes for business. What a great, what a great concept. 

[00:00:35] Travis Revelle
Yeah. Coming, coming soon. 

[00:00:36] Dr. Nate Salah
We're coming soon. We're gonna make that happen. Our eighth B attitude. So if you haven't listened to the first six episodes in this series, we would encourage you, check 'em all out. You don't have to listen to them in order. Any of these are certainly applicable. However, there is a method to that ordering of, and so the first one definitely is, is, is Lays the foundation and then so on and so forth. And today. We're gonna talk about peacemaking and, the, the beatitude is real simple. It is just, you know, blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers. do you, when, when you hear the word peacemaking, it's, it's an interesting term because, most people. Most people, not everybody, most people wanna live in peace. Would you agree? I mean, most people wanna just, just have a peaceful life.

[00:01:34] Joe Thompson
The majority of the population.

[00:01:36] Dr. Nate Salah
The majority of the population. In fact, you know, say for example, you, somebody moves in next door to you, all right? And your new neighbor, I'm just gonna go there, all right? Because I just so happen to be of this background. All right? 

[00:01:54] Joe Thompson
You were the neighbor though. It was you, 

[00:01:59] Dr. Nate Salah
It was you. So your new neighbor maybe isn't of a different, cultural heritage. Right. And kind of looks a little like Osama bin LA Oh, 

[00:02:12] Travis Revelle
Okay. 

[00:02:12] Dr. Nate Salah
Okay. I was going there, you know, I was going there maybe. And, you're like, oh, interesting day version. Right. Uh. Of course we know. I'll just call it out because I mean, my parents are immigrant Palestinians. The first thing many people wanna make sure of is that, oh, this episode's already starting out silly. Is that your neighbor? I'll just say it isn't a terrorist. I mean, come on. 

[00:02:44] Travis Revelle
You, you're the only one that can say that. 

[00:02:46] Dr. Nate Salah
I'm the only one that can say that. But if you're listening, you're, you thought it, and I know my two very astute, intelligent, amazing co-hosts, decks of fertilizer in the garage. And they, they move in with a white van. Right. I'm just gonna go there. 

[00:03:01] Travis Revelle
Is it a Penske van? 

[00:03:02] Dr. Nate Salah
And it's Penske van. and, and they take flying lessons. Okay. All right. Just, just go all out. Right? Well. I say that to say, when people talk about that, people talk about like radical, you know Islam, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Of course I'm a Christian, but that's okay. It's people say, you know, what's up with that? Say, you know what? I know a lot of people who are Muslim, obviously, most of them just wanna live in peace. Mm-hmm. The wrong majority of them, most of everybody wants to just live in peace. And it, it's this universal desire. In fact, the, the, the Jews and the Arabs have the same, very similar term when they greet you. What do the Jews say? 

[00:03:50] Travis Revelle
Shalan. 

[00:03:50] Dr. Nate Salah
Shalom. Right? The Arabs say Salaam. It just, it means peace be with you. Peace be upon you. Right? It's like literally, it's like the universal greed. Mm. Because it means something very important to every human being. That's a, that's like an end game in any day. In any household. In any business, right. 

[00:04:12] Travis Revelle
Thousand percent. 

[00:04:14] Dr. Nate Salah
Because we live in a lot of conflict. 

[00:04:16] Joe Thompson
Right. My, my sense of humor side and my PC side, 

[00:04:20] Dr. Nate Salah
You're conflicting, 

[00:04:22] Travis Revelle
You're struggling right now trying, having trouble. Right. Be holy. You got the shirt on? Yeah. 

[00:04:30] Dr. Nate Salah
You do have the shirt on. He's wearing the merch. interestingly, I'm gonna expand it just a bit for you. Blessed other peacemakers. The word, in the Greek for peacemakers does, does not mean peace lovers or peacekeepers. It's important. It means those who actively create peace, where peace does not yet exist. Like that's the next level.

[00:04:55] Travis Revelle
Mm-hmm. 

[00:04:56] Dr. Nate Salah
That's a massive distinction there. 'cause you'd be like, oh yeah, I wanna make peace. Like, hey, you know what, if there's an issue you're facing, I mean, what? Like, well, I just ask you guys, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you say, oh, that person's a peacemaker. They, they,

[00:05:13] Travis Revelle
I think, I think if you're a, if you're a, if you're a true peacemaker, right? Like, I think it's, it's kind of an oxymoron of what you think it is, right? Because you think peace is, is. I don't wanna say weak, right, but like quiet, you know, sublime, right? Like all, all the things that you think about, right?

[00:05:33] Dr. Nate Salah
Or, or certain stereotypes of people like the, a hippie.

[00:05:36] Travis Revelle
The hippie mean a hippie. Like, yeah, just like, but like, if you're a peace maker, that means that you have the ability to be violent, to create peace, right? Like, you can't, there's a saying, right? Like, if, if you're. there's a difference between being a weak man or being a strong man who shows weakness, right? Like there's a difference. You have the ability to be dangerous or you don't, right? And I think if you're a peacemaker, that means that you step into conflict to disarm it, but you have to be able to handle conflict, right? Like you have to be comfortable going in. Getting some shots, right. Taken if you're gonna step in and, and create that piece. So I think that, that, that's a very active type of life compared to 

[00:06:28] Joe Thompson
Colt named its pistol. The peacemaker. 

[00:06:32] Travis Revelle
There you go. 

[00:06:33] Joe Thompson
Right. Like that's immediately what I thought, what you said you gotta step into. 

[00:06:36] Travis Revelle
Yeah. So, so I think, I think that that person is somebody who, um. I think, I think that that's a unique individual because most people, if you see two people arguing, not my business, right? I walk on by, you know, but the person that steps in and tries to, you know, just dissolve that conflict like that, that takes. It takes, that takes a lot of inner strength, you know, to do that. 

[00:07:03] Joe Thompson
Mm-hmm. Just pick one of them, knock one of them out. 

[00:07:07] Travis Revelle
Just pick one. Right. 

[00:07:07] Joe Thompson
Argument's over. Right. 

[00:07:09] Dr. Nate Salah
Peace. 

[00:07:10] Joe Thompson
Made peace. Boom. Peace made. 

[00:07:13] Dr. Nate Salah
I mean, you could actually, you could actually have that like engraved and on each study of uncles. Right. Peace made. You know, that'd be pretty raw. That's funny. But you're right, Joe, it's, they call pistols. Call the peacemaker. That's interesting. I like that because a lot of people don't think of it like that. Right? They just think that you're just a, a person who is passive. Avoid peace avoidance, or I should say conflict avoidance. 

[00:07:40] Joe Thompson
Conflict avoidance. 

[00:07:41] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. But that's not always the pathway to peace. Obviously, because Jesus was constantly in conflict. 

[00:07:53] Joe Thompson
I mean, constantly look for it. Yeah.

[00:07:53] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he didn't like show up places and be like, well, I'm just gonna be really nice. I'm not gonna ruffle any feathers with these Pharisees because 

[00:08:05] Travis Revelle
I, and I think that's, that's like, I think that's been one of the, the, the largest kind of, things that I've learned from this series, right, is I don't know why everybody has always made Jesus out to be this very passive.

[00:08:23] Joe Thompson
Individual. Like a hippie. 

[00:08:24] Travis Revelle
Like a hippie, because he looked like one. But, you know, I mean, definitely was not one mean, that's literally in my mind, right? Like before we started this, I'm like, 

[00:08:32] Joe Thompson
Maybe. 

[00:08:32] Travis Revelle
You know, maybe, but like, you know, it's like, oh, you know, like, Hey man, it's all good. You know, like the hippie, he was a, he was radical, you know? I mean, he stepped into it. I mean, he went places where he was not wanted to. I mean, do his thing, you know what I mean? 

[00:08:50] Dr. Nate Salah
To the point where like he was about to be murdered on the spot. Right. Time and time and time again. It takes a lot. 

[00:08:58] Joe Thompson
Yeah. 

[00:08:58] Dr. Nate Salah
Think about that. 

[00:08:59] Travis Revelle
Yeah. 

[00:09:00] Joe Thompson
Like just put that perspective. But he was always, always like, not this time.

[00:09:04] Travis Revelle
Right, right. It's coming not this time. Right, right. Yeah. I mean, you gotta really upset people and having your crew, right. Your boys. Right. Like be like, man. Don't do it again. Right, right. You know what I mean? Like, we don't need to go there. Like, come on man. 

[00:09:17] Joe Thompson
I mean, when, when was the last time you said anything in front of a group of people when they were like, kill him. You know what I mean? It just doesn't happen. 

[00:09:26] Travis Revelle
Pick up anything. Right. What do you got? Right. Right. 

[00:09:29] Joe Thompson
Wow. 

[00:09:30] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's cool. Yeah. It's, it's, it's. It's something you don't think about, but it's true because peace, peace makers are not, it's not weakness. Right? 

[00:09:42] Travis Revelle
It's extreme strength.

[00:09:43] Dr. Nate Salah
Extreme strength it. And like you said, this whole series is reminding us of all the strength involved and required to fill this call, like to do this kind of stuff, right. It doesn't mean like, oh, now there's time for quietness and, and all that, and reflection. This is like action. This is movement, this is activity. This is, this is saying, you cannot create peace externally. If you sub refuse to submit to peace internally in the sense, bless you, is, you know, where you, you know, you can't avoid the conversation. God is asking you to lead in your own heart, so that. You can have the real conversations with everyone around you.

[00:10:33] Travis Revelle
Look, I think, I think that part right there sums, it, sums up a, a huge part for me, right? Because I think that if everybody's honest, right? The, the biggest battle that people face day to day is internally in their own head, right? and to, to have God telling you right peacemaker internally. I mean, that's, that's, that's a, that, that's something that you could sit and, and, and, and meditate on for, you know, years, really. Right. Because I know for me, the largest battle I face every day is just. Convincing myself that I'm not who I think I am, right? Like that's, that's the thing, that's the battle, right? And everything kind of spurs out from that, right? How I treat my family, how I treat my friends, how I treat everybody else is based upon what version of myself I'm believing I am today. You know? and so that's a huge challenge, right? Create peace inside yourself, 

[00:11:34] Dr. Nate Salah
Truly. Joe, I wanna ask you about this part because I know you're also a, a, a fellow, martial arts. aficionado, and you're an enthusiast not only from the perspective of you participated in martial arts for many years, and of course you, you know, all the major characters and you remember the, the the Bruce Lee tribute movie, and was it his son who played that? Brandon Lee. I can't remember his son. Maybe not. Maybe I don't think so. Maybe not. Yeah. because I know he's talking about that Brandon Lee played in, well, he ended up, he was in the crow, right? Yeah. And then tragically he died. Well, the, the gentleman who played him, I love that movie. one particular scene. Do you remember where he was had to battle that, that internal. block that he had and, and he had to fight the whatever. I can't remember exactly what it was. You remember, he had to fight some kind of a, an adversary, in his thoughts, in his heart mind, right? Mm-hmm. And, and that it's, that is a, a bit of a, a, a picture of this. Like, you know, what's inside that? I need to get my peacemakers out, right? And, and defeat that enemy inside that is keeping me from being at peace with God. Yeah. It's a battle. 

[00:12:56] Joe Thompson
Yeah. I mean, a, a huge, a huge portion of, you know, learning martial arts is really the internal struggle. Like most people approach it thinking, I'm gonna learn how to fight and defend myself, but like, the real fight isn't taking place on the dojo floor. It's taking place. Like inside of you, like who you are and, you know, you're trying to like, purify your spirit, so to speak. And, it, it, it comes way later, you know? 'Cause for the first few years you're just trying to get it right, you know what I mean? And then it becomes more, of a spiritual. Kind of road as you really start to learn like what the lessons are teaching you. So it's a, it, it's like a religious experience in a way. 

[00:13:53] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, it's interesting because our last episode we're blesser of the pure and heart. So it's like, it's almost like Jesus is like, Hey, if you just followed this death, 

[00:14:00] Travis Revelle
it's a step by step program. Like this is eight steps. You know, like this is the eight step program. 

[00:14:09] Joe Thompson
Biggest, tallest steps. 

[00:14:11] Travis Revelle
I mean, but it it like pyramid. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, like I, I've, so I've been reading a lot about neuroplasticity, which is your brain's ability to, you know, create new pathways, right. And, and to continue to grow. And, you know, science is catching up. You know, it's, its, you know, at one time they thought our brain stopped developing in our teens, and, and now they realize like, your, your brain is constantly developing. And you know, the one, the one cool thing about neuroplasticity is that you know it, if you have positive thoughts, your brain starts to look for positive things in the world, right. To, to, to, you know, basically prove to yourself that you're right. Right? Because your brain always wants to be right. You know, so, and inversely, if you are constantly having negative thoughts, your brain starts to look for negative things to give that reinforcement that it is right on the negative side.

[00:15:06]
 Correct. Mm-hmm. And so 2000 years ago, got Jesus talking about, right, like the internal battle that you have and being at peace. And a lot of that there's, there's science that backs that up. That if you are peace on the inside, right, your brain will start to look for peaceful things outside to give you that confirmation bias that it is peaceful. Mm-hmm. And so the battle does truly start in your own head. You can't be a peacemaker if you're not at peace internally. 

[00:15:41] Dr. Nate Salah
100%. Hey friend, it's your friend, Dr. Nate Sala, and I wanna personally invite you to something that's been on my heart for a long. On October 3rd in St. Louis, we're gathering a room full of faith-driven leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals, lifelong learners. At our inaugural G three Summit. It's not just another business event, it's a sacred space where we lay down the pressure, the performance. The pursuit of empty success, we step into a calling that's aligned with God's best for us. I believe you were created to lead with purpose, to give from overflow, go love radically in your home, your business, and your community. That's what G3 is all about. Grow purposefully, give generously. Go love radically if you've been longing for deeper meaning in your leadership. If you're ready to consecrate your influence to something eternal, and this summit was designed just for you, you can visit us at my G3summit.com. Reserve your spot today and I cannot wait to see you there. I wonder, you know, as we un unfold this, understanding the variances in our own spirit and our own soul, like, okay, well maybe we've been a peacekeeper in our own spirit. Well, a peacekeeper avoids tension. 

[00:17:22] Travis Revelle
Mm-hmm. 

[00:17:23] Dr. Nate Salah
Right. Naturally, that's the, that's just the nature. Right? Right. A peacemaker, redeems the tension. There's, there's a, there, there's a, a clear distinction even in our own dichotomy of language, right? How we, how we describe these terms and how we live them out and walking in that and from a daily perspective and saying, okay, am I being a peacekeeper? Am I being a peacemaker? And why would we wanna be a peacekeeper? Hey, friend, it's your friend, Dr. Nate Sala. If you're tired of leading in isolation, if you're wondering if anyone else is trying to build a business and a life that honors God, let me tell you, you're not alone. That's why we created the G three community. This is a space where kingdom-minded leaders grow together. We share wisdom. And we pray for one another and we take bold steps in our calling. That sounds like your kind of tribe. Come join us, head to g three tribe.com or find us on Facebook, grow, give, go together. It's a path of least resistance. 

[00:18:39] Joe Thompson
You know, we always apply this to business, so I was thinking, you know, if you are a manager of, of any kinda, any kind of business. You are a, you are a peacemaker, like you're really doing your job because, you know, maybe you have to step in and cut out the pot, stir, you know, maybe the one that you know, spreads gossip and you know, you have to step in and do that. If you're a peacekeeper, you're trying to just satiate everybody you know, and you're. You're not honest to any one person really. 'cause you're like, oh, you know, I understand he treats you bad. And then when you talk to him, oh, I understand she treats you bad. You know, like peacekeeping isn't always the honest approach and it's definitely not a way to solve a problem. I mean, I have purposely picked fights in boardroom just to get. To the peacemaking part of it. Like, let's just get it out in the open. Let's have it out. And, you know, I'll, I'll say something provocative or something just to provoke people into kinda arguing And, it solves the problem. you know, they may think, oh, you're negative to do that, but it, it really takes, intelligence and strength to do that. We could have a nice calm meeting here. We all kumbaya and we don't get any further on what we're trying to accomplish, or we can kind of have it out, you know, we can kind of battle it out here. And then when we get to the peacemaking part, most likely we have a solution. 

[00:20:25] Travis Revelle
And you know, what we call those conversations in my organization is like, come to Jesus meeting.

[00:20:30] Dr. Nate Salah
How appropriate? 

[00:20:31] Travis Revelle
How appropriate? 

[00:20:32] Dr. Nate Salah
Mm-hmm. You know, well, I think we, we tend to avoid them. We cost, like we see cost and so avoiding peacemaking and just being peacekeeping. Doesn't count. It counts the immediate savings, but not the long-term cost. 

[00:20:51] Travis Revelle
Correct. Right. Short term game, long-term loss. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:20:56] Dr. Nate Salah
In any relationship.

[00:20:57] Travis Revelle
Any relationship, business, family, friendships, anything. And it takes a lot of courage. It really does. To be a peacemaker, not just a peacekeeper. Well, I also think because most people. Unless, unless it was the three of us having that conversation where now we have this, this kind of idea set out, right? Most people are gonna be uber defensive if you try to become a peacemaker, right? Because you're gonna say some things that are gonna ruffle their feathers and they're gonna be defensive, and they're gonna think that you're attacking them. So I think, I think right. Setting the stage for having these conversations, right? Like I'm thinking from an application standpoint. Mm-hmm. Right? Mm-hmm. Like, you're, you're, you're at work and you need to, you need to have one of these conversations. I think it's, I think it's very important to, set that stage right? Like to explain, this is where I'm coming from. This is what my intentions are. This is what I, what I'm looking to have happen.

[00:21:58]
 Not attack you, but we need to have this conversation to come through. Right. I don't know if I've ever sat down with, I've done it a lot at work, but I don't know if I've ever sat down with a family member or a friend and set the stage for the conversation. Mm-hmm. It, it's to be like, Hey bro, listen me and your, but were having a tough conversation. Right? Like, I've never had, I've never said that to a friend of mine before, if it wasn't in a work setting where that friend happened to be a, a colleague or something, you know? but I think that that's, I think you have to do that. 

[00:22:31] Joe Thompson
And it also takes admitting when you've been wrong too, because it's easy to sit down when you've, you know, been hurt by someone else and say, Hey, we're gonna have a tough conversation. This is how you hurt me. This is what you did. 

[00:22:43] Travis Revelle
Right. 

[00:22:44] Joe Thompson
But when it's mutual and you've both had a hand in disrupting the relationship, to sit down and say, Hey, let's have a tough conversation, and I'm gonna admit to the things I did to mess this up. Yeah. Right? Mm-hmm. 

[00:22:57] Dr. Nate Salah
It's tough indeed. Yeah. It's necessary though. Because what happens, we, we will attend to avoid that, the peace making to keep to, it's interesting because you want to keep peace, but it's really a temporary and it's, it's founded on a lack of, of a solid footing, right? Mm-hmm. I mean, it's, it's shifting sand. 

[00:23:18] Travis Revelle
Yeah. 

[00:23:18] Dr. Nate Salah
It's inevitable. At some point, there's not gonna be peace. We're going to have to resolve this issue. 

[00:23:24] Joe Thompson
Yeah. 

[00:23:25] Dr. Nate Salah
Or live in misery. 

[00:23:27] Joe Thompson
Yeah. Because it lives under the surface. 

[00:23:30] Dr. Nate Salah
Right? 

[00:23:30] Joe Thompson
No matter how, what it looks like, how much, how, how much peacekeeping you're doing, man. Yeah. Actually, honestly, peacekeeping takes more work in the long run. In the long run. Yeah. 

[00:23:41] Travis Revelle
Because it's a you, it's a constant, it's like, it's like being a gardener, right? Like, and you've got weeds, and instead of getting the root, you just keep clipping the weeds at the surface, right? Every few weeks, you're gonna have to go back and do that. Or you can take the time and go to the root of the issue. Right. Figure it out and move on. So it's just where do you wanna spend your time and your energy? Do you want to do it upfront where you've got long-term payoff, or do you want it to be a constant nagging issue that is going to come back up? I was having this conversation with a friend of mine this morning. she has an employee who. It's, it's constantly doing something right? Like it is always, is always, it's always something, right? And and I told her, I was like, I was just real honest with her. I said, listen, I said, here, here's, here's, here's your dilemma. I was like, your dilemma is you have more than enough right. Ammo documentation to, to terminate this employee. and she said, yeah, I get it, but you know, I don't like to give up on people.

[00:24:48]
 And I was like, fair enough. Right? Like, I'm not saying give up on people, however, you have to make the determination, right? Like, you know, history has shown that this person is going to continue to do things. It's gonna happen, right? Is are you willing to take the ownership? Of the things that are gonna happen in the future because it could escalate, it could be something major, right? And this is in a client facing organization, right? Where this person is touching clients every single day. And she was like, I never thought about it like that, that I'm literally taking ownership because I don't want to do the thing that I know I need to do. Right? Yeah. And, and, and we have that scenario in the retail world all the time, right? You have individuals that do just enough to get by, but they create. We call it a cancer, right? Because they create all these secondary and and third level issues that happen, whether it's being late or whether it's just bad attitude, and at some point, right? You have to make the determination in any of these types of scenarios, right? When do I own this as the manager or as the leader, or as the friend, or as the parent, or as you know, the husband or whatever it is. I own this issue because I just refuse to do what I know I need to do. 

[00:26:00] Dr. Nate Salah
Mm-hmm. Yeah. The, the rest of it is really powerful. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.

[00:26:20] Travis Revelle
Now, I like that. 

[00:26:23] Dr. Nate Salah
It's, it's a, it's a reflection. It because we resemble a father of course, and daughters, right. We resemble the father because the thing about God is God does not avoid brokenness, and that's really what a lack of peace or peace, 10, the tension that you're trying to keep peace. There's brokenness there and like you said, you're constantly trying to piece it together like super glue and trying to, and it's never sticking for long enough for you to actually even get rest yourself. God enters that. He restores it. There's a difference between repair and restoration, right? Restoration makes it new. Mm-hmm. The relationship becomes new and sometimes that means you entering the situation, whether it be in business or family. Sometimes it means you exiting for long enough for whatever needs to happen to happen.

[00:27:28] Travis Revelle
You've tracking me. Yep. I feel that one.

[00:27:34] Joe Thompson
I think you, think you hit it? 

[00:27:34] Dr. Nate Salah
I hit it. I hit it. I hit it. 

[00:27:36] Joe Thompson
I think you hit a nerve. 

[00:27:37] Dr. Nate Salah
I hit it. I'm sure someone listening, I mean, in my own life, right? And I'm thinking of situations in my own life, that are, you know, that are personal. That's like sometimes, sometimes peacemaking means holstering. 

[00:27:54] Travis Revelle
For the moment, sometimes. 

[00:27:55] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah.

[00:27:56] Travis Revelle
You, you, you do, you do the best that you can. Yeah. Right. But if, if that other person doesn't want peace, you have to go make your own peace. And sometimes that means you have to walk away from that relationship and that is okay. 

[00:28:10] Joe Thompson
That's the only way you can achieve internal peace. 

[00:28:13] Travis Revelle
Sometimes. That's it. That's it. 

[00:28:14] Joe Thompson
You cut the, 

[00:28:15] Travis Revelle
And when we, it starts internally. 

[00:28:17] Joe Thompson
Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:28:18] Travis Revelle
God is telling us that you will never have external peace until you have internal peace. So it's not selfish to look at it and say, I need to remove myself from this situation for my internal peace. God is telling you to do that. It's specific, specifically telling you to do that. So you have like there, there were times in my life where I have to walk away from a situation no matter how hard it is, because I am not, and you have, you have, you have to, you have to be honest with yourself if you've really. Given it your all. 

[00:29:01] Dr. Nate Salah
That's right. 

[00:29:01] Travis Revelle
Like you have to have that hard conversation with yourself.

[00:29:04] Dr. Nate Salah
Which is, which is, goes back to the last beatitude. Pure and heart. 

[00:29:07] Travis Revelle
Pure and heart. 

[00:29:07] Dr. Nate Salah
Right. Right. Just, just take it one step back. 

[00:29:10] Travis Revelle
Take it one step back. Have I done everything that I can do? And if you have done everything that you can do, and you still are in this conflict, brother, sister, mm-hmm.

[00:29:21] Dr. Nate Salah
Be at peace.

[00:29:23] Travis Revelle
Be at peace. 

[00:29:24] Dr. Nate Salah
Bye. Fostering your own internal peace walking away sometimes, right? Walk away, be at peace, walk away and, and like you said, know that it's okay. 

[00:29:34] Travis Revelle
It's okay. And it doesn't mean that you're walking away forever, 

[00:29:38] Dr. Nate Salah
Right? 

[00:29:39] Travis Revelle
But sometimes your presence is creating this conflict and your absence will give air and room for that to that conflict to start to reside.

[00:29:52] Dr. Nate Salah
Someone needs to hear this right now. Absolutely. Someone listening ly hear us. 

[00:29:57] Travis Revelle
It's okay. Like, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay. You know what I mean? People think like it's not okay. I'm being selfish. you know, it's, it's shames shame. It's, it's my family. It's it's my kids, it's my parents. It's whatever it is. Listen, there's nothing more important. 

[00:30:14] Dr. Nate Salah
That's right. 

[00:30:14] Travis Revelle
Per God here. 

[00:30:15] Dr. Nate Salah
Yes. 

[00:30:16] Travis Revelle
To be a, a child of God, a son of God. You must have peace, and that peace starts internally. So do what you need to do to have internal peace, and then God will, I'm sure we'll show you a way to help figure out that scenario. 

[00:30:35] Joe Thompson
You know, I think about so many people who live in an abusive situation, you know, with, uh. Family member or even just like an abusive boss or somebody who, you know, doesn't always have to be physical, but you know, the, the mental health that we talk about all the time. if you, if you know anyone who suffers from mental health issues, they are not at peace. Right? 

[00:30:58] Dr. Nate Salah
Right. 

[00:30:59] Joe Thompson
They're constantly plagued by the things that are bothering them, the anxiety that goes with it. So, if it's a situ, if it's situational. Sometimes it's, it's chemical, it's physical, if it's situational. and, and I know this sounds much easier than it is to do, but to remove yourself from that situation. You know, accept, help outside help and, 'cause you deserve peace. You know what I mean? Because people who are abused often think they're not worth. You know? Mm-hmm. The, the, the same as anyone else, but in God's eyes, we're all equally worth our, our ability to maintain peace within ourselves and in our surroundings. So, yeah, sometimes walking away isn't peacekeeping, it's peacemaking. 'cause you have to avoid this harmful thing, you know? 

[00:31:59] Dr. Nate Salah
A hundred percent. And it's, that's the distinction. I mean, that's such an important distinction we're making through this episode. It's so clear, like, it's so clear that those are the two choices, right? And sometimes peacekeeping will tear you apart. It will tear the fabric of your life. And it's just, it's not, it's, 

[00:32:21] Joe Thompson
It's just too much work for me because mostly I don't care what your opinion of me is. So to try and just keep this kind of fake. Peace. It's just, it's just not me. But I can see, like other people probably struggle with this, because they worry about the repercussions of, okay, what are they gonna think about me? What are they gonna say to other people? And what are other people gonna think about me? 'Cause some people are very concerned with what others think about them. 

[00:32:53] Travis Revelle
I'm thinking about people who are in, you know, bad marriages, right? And, and they have kids and, you know, a lot of people stay together for the kids. I think one of the, I think one of the, the best things that you can teach your kid is to choose internal peace. I think that's a skillset because your, your children are watching you and they're watching you be a peace keeper, and then they're gonna grow up thinking that that's what they should be as well. Right. 

[00:33:24] Joe Thompson
I learned it by watching you, dad. 

[00:33:25] Travis Revelle
I learned it by watching you, dad. You know, I learned it by watching you, mom. And, and I think that a lot of times we, we make these excuses for ourselves because we say, we're gonna do this for our kids, right? We want our kids to have this, we want our kids to have that. But there's, there's very few things more powerful than, than showing your child how you are going to be a peace maker, so that they know that that's what's expected for their lives as well.

[00:33:55] Dr. Nate Salah
Amen. That's it. Peacemaking is not weakness. It is spirit led power under God's control, which is very similar to what we were talking about earlier when talking about the meek. And when we approach that, we are approaching with the perspective of God, you're not, you're calling me to initiate peace even when it costs comfort. That initiation, as you said, could be simply losing the comfort of peacemaking in the moment for the joy of being called a son of God forever.

[00:34:38] Joe Thompson
It's a good stopping point. 

[00:34:40] Travis Revelle
Thank you so much for supporting our program. 

[00:34:45] Dr. Nate Salah
We couldn't do it without you. I want to just take a moment to honor you in prayer. We don't wanna build anything without you. God, we not a business, not a family, not a future. So we invite you into every room. We walk into this week, board rooms, living rooms, prayer rooms. Let your spirit lead us. Let your voice guide us and let your power move through us to bless everyone we encountered. We are yours and your holy name. Amen.

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Dr. Nate Salah

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