The Best-Kept Secret to Peace, by M.C. Holbrook

God’s individual will for each of our lives is not as difficult to discern as we might sometimes believe. God does not make His will hidden, obscure, tricky, or “almost” the same thing as something else. In fact, St. Paul tells us that when we are not following the will of God, it is “obvious.” But if it is so obvious, then why are we so often unsure about how to respond in circumstances that tempt us to react with “rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, [or] occasions of envy” (Gal. 5:19-21)?

We all have people in our lives whose behavior always seems to trigger in us the temptation to react with a couple of those “obvious” works of the flesh which St. Paul lists in his letter to the Galatians. Each time they do X, Y, or Z, we fall into a pattern of habitual responses. We are shocked, we are in disbelief, we are scandalized (How could they say such a thing? Why would they do that?). The initial shock we experience soon turns into irritation, impatience, frustration, anger, and judgment. Perhaps we think, “I’m done trying to maintain a friendship with them. Look how they have stepped on my efforts!” ….