Practicing the Peace of God in China

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Finally, brethren, rejoice; be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11 NAS

"The superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the appointments of Heaven." Confucius

Years ago, Jim and Judy Mackey gave me "Practicing the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence. I've read that slim volume countless times, and the more I practiced His presence, the more I appreciated the value of practicing His peace as well--though our move to China in 1988 was to teach us much more about practicing His presence, His peace, and His patience.

In the early 1990s, Old Huang, in Xiamen University Foreign Affairs, said to me, "I saw you cycling so fast downtown yesterday. What was the hurry?"

The Hurry Habit My immediate (but unspoken) thought was, "I had things to do, of course." But as I thought about it, I saw that nothing was really urgent enough to warrant my pace that day. I was rushing from habit, not necessity, just as I had when I was in Los Angeles and driving daily from one side of the congested city to the other.

Pedal Slowly. A common Chinese farewell is "Walk slowly!" (man zou--rather like "take it easy"). So I literally forced myself to pedal slowly, to avoid "looking at flowers on horseback," as the Chinese put it, and to live life and not just view it as I rushed past it.

Have some tea? As I rushed about town, Chinese often called out, "Have some tea?" I often thought, "Yeah, you can sit around all day and drink tea because you have nothing to do." And that was a little true back in the days of the Iron Rice Bowl (which collapsed when everyone broke their teeth on their Iron Chopsticks), but I started to force myself, at least every couple days, to stop and have tea with a shopkeeper or a laborer. Inwardly, I chomped at the bits as they labored for 15 minutes over a tiny Minnan teapot, elaborately pouring, rinsing, brewing, serving--all this for a thimbleful of tea (I'm used to all-American two-liter mugs). But I forced myself to sit, watch, chat, and sip--and marveled at the reaction upon me.

Behavior--Attitudes. It is well known that attitudes affect behavior, but our behavior also affects our attitudes, and I slowly began to appreciate nuances of Chinese life, and my own family life, that I had overlooked. I forced myself to not only slow down when possible but also to rethink priorities--and to make sure that I started each day out with a Quiet Time, so I could listen to that still small voice for direction. At first I thought I did not have time for quiet times, or time to slow down. Now I realize that I don't have time NOT to slow down. Life is too short not to live it.

New England Lesson Norman Vincent Peale was riving like mad trying to make an 11 A.M. appointment to meet their son at Deerfield Academy. When his his wife pointed out the beauty of the New England countryside in October, he said, "What hillside? What tree?"

Mr. Peale's wife said to her oblivious husband, "This is one of the most glorious days I have evern seen. How could you possibly imagine such amazing colors as these New England hillsides in October? In fact, it makes me happy inside."

Mr. Peale was so struck by his wife's comments that he turned the car around, and they spent some time on the grass enjoying their Father's handiwork. They then resumed their journey and arrived, on time, refreshed.

Practice the Peace Mr. Peale concluded, "To help reduce this tension which seems to dominate our people everywhere, you can start by reducing your own pace. To do that you will need to slow down, quiet down. Do not fume. Do not fret. Practice being peaceful. Practice "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." (Philippians 4:7). Then note the quiet power sense that wells up within you."

Thank you, Jim and Judy--and thank you, all of you Chinese shopkeepers, street sweeper, and patient neighbors, who for twenty years have called out to his busy foreigners, "Go slowly!"

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