Conflict seems right, but it may be blinding you
Conflict seems right, but it blinds us. Peace, often invisible, is what lets us see. A deep reflection on inner transformation.
Airton Humber · 07/04/26 · 4 min de leitura
Peace does not come afterward. It is what makes us see.
There is something I have been observing in myself, very honestly.
Many times, I still want to resolve things through conflict.
At first glance it does not seem wrong.
On the contrary, it often looks like firmness, taking a stand, even justice.
But, looking more carefully, I realize something deeper is going on.
It is not only about behavior.
It is about nature.
The Word of God says:
“Seek to live in peace with everyone and pursue holiness; without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14)
This verse has always caught my attention.
Because it does not say that without knowledge we will not see.
Nor that without effort… or without good works.
It says: without peace, we do not see.
And maybe here is something we usually do not notice:
We do not see… because we have been taken over.
We are blinded by anger.
Blinded by conflicts.
Blinded by complaints.
As if something covered our eyes.
And this reminds me of when Paul had his eyes opened,
as if scales had fallen.
It was not only a physical miracle.
It was sight.
This completely changes the starting point.
Peace is not the result of the spiritual life.
It is the condition for seeing.
And this connects directly with something Jesus himself said:
Before entering, one must see.
Because without sight, there is no entrance.
And without peace… we do not see.
Jesus reveals the beginning of the path.
And, at another moment, He says:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Mt 5:9)
Do you see the continuity?
Seeing…
Entering…
And then living as a child.
The peacemaker is not only someone who avoids conflict.
He is someone who is already living from this new nature.
Because children carry the nature of the Father.
And the Father is not divided.
That is why the Word says:
“Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:16)
Children are holy.
Not by effort.
But by nature.
And holiness, here, begins to take on a simple meaning:
Not doing what everyone does.
Do not do as everyone does,
but be transformed by the renewing of your understanding. (Rom 12:2)
Paul is not asking for effort.
He is pointing to transformation.
Because the problem was never only behavior.
It was always the way of seeing.
And, when we look at Paul's teaching, we see this same line being deepened:
“Let the peace of Christ be the arbiter in your hearts…” (Col 3:15)
Jesus reveals the path.
Paul shows how this works inside us.
And Paul goes further.
He speaks of a peace that does not depend on logic:
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind…” (Phil 4:7)
This is very revealing.
Because it shows that this peace is not born from explanation.
It does not come when everything makes sense.
It comes from another place.
But this peace is not something we produce.
It is given.
Jesus said:
“I give you my peace.” (John 14:27)
It is not the peace the world builds.
It is not the peace that depends on circumstances.
It is a peace that comes from Him.
And maybe that is why it surpasses understanding.
Because it is not born from logic.
It is received.
And this also explains why not everyone sees.
Because seeing is not automatic.
Jesus also said:
“Whoever asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds.” (Mt 7:8)
There is a movement here.
Not of effort… but of direction.
Of someone who realizes they are not seeing
and decides to seek.
And, when I look at my own life, I notice something uncomfortable:
We do not only enter into conflict…
We often like it.
We like to complain.
We like to point fingers.
We like to position ourselves as the one who is right.
There is a kind of energy in this.
But this is not new either.
When Moses brought the people out of Egypt, they had seen miracles.
They had been set free.
They were being led.
And still…
The desert was marked by complaining.
Not for lack of provision.
But because their nature was still that of Egypt.
And maybe that is what we still carry.
We left… but we were not transformed within.
But there is another way.
It begins where Jesus pointed:
To see.
And it is sustained by what Paul described:
A peace that does not depend on understanding.
And it shows itself in a different life:
Not doing what everyone does.
“Let the peace of Christ be the arbiter…” (Col 3:15)
The arbiter decides.
So the question stops being:
Who is right?
Who is wrong?
And becomes:
Does this keep the peace of Christ in me?
If it does not… there is already a sign.
Because the external conflict begins earlier.
It begins within.
And here something begins to become very clear:
Peace is also revealed in the absence of unnecessary conflicts.
Not because everything is resolved outside,
but because something stopped reacting inside.
Before, any tension generated a response.
Now, often, there is only perception… and silence.
Not a silence of repression,
but of someone who no longer needs to defend themselves all the time.
It is as if peace became the inner environment
and, because of that, conflict no longer finds anywhere to rest.
But peace…
Peace unites.
Peace aligns.
Peace reveals.
“It is in peace that one sows… for those who promote peace” (Jas 3:18)
it is in peace that good news is planted.
Not only with words.
But with life itself.
Because everything that is sown carries the nature of the environment where it was planted.
And, if this is true…
it is also true that we reap what we sow.
Conflict may even seem to produce results.
But it does not produce life.
It does not produce real transformation.
It does not produce fruit that remains.
Because fruit reveals the origin.
And the Spirit produces something very different:
love, joy, peace…
This is not natural in us.
It is born from another source.
That is why it cannot be manufactured.
It can only be generated.
And this changes even the small decisions of everyday life.
Before answering.
Before correcting.
Before reacting.
A silent question can reveal everything:
Is this being born from peace… or from tension?
Because peace does not come afterward.
It is the starting point.
In the end, everything connects:
We become blind when we are taken over.
Peace allows us to see.
Jesus shows the path.
Children live this nature.
Paul reveals how this works inside us.
And life shows where we still are.
The natural man tends toward conflict.
Transformation comes through the renewing of understanding.
And the evidence of this transformation is only one:
peace governing the heart.
And without this peace…
we do not see.
