Peace on Earth?

U2 > Discography > Lyrics > Peace On Earth

"Jesus this song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth?
This peace on Earth"

I have to shake my head every time I hear this song and songs like it. Look at sinful, fallen man: does anyone really think that we will ever have a true peace on Earth, a complete and irreversible cessation of all human hostilities? To the believers who are on the peace bandwagon: what kind of peace do you really want? Man is inherently sinful... there will always be war and conflict on Earth, both just and unjust. But when it really comes down to it, what peace would you rather have, peace on Earth or peace in Heaven? Eternal peace, where humanity is completely restored to God and washed clean of all sin for all of eternity, will be far more beautiful and fulfilling than a life lived on Earth free of this particular kind of pain.
Granted, this does not mean that all forms of peace are unattainable. When a nation's freedom is threatened and it is necessary to fight back to defend that freedom, then a limited form of peace can be achieved, understood in the sense that there is national peace (i.e., freedom). Fighting to defend freedom is one of the most noble things, and I have nothing but respect for those who are on the front lines this very second, doing just that. But what the idealists talk about, an all-encompassing peace where no one fights or uses weapons or armies or anything of that sort, is impossible... until Heaven.
That said, the idealists' peace would be a great thing to have--I'm not rejecting the idea because I don't want it. I can think of a lot of military families who would take peace on earth if it meant filling the empty chair at the dinner table, and my heart goes out to them. But on the whole, we need to "store up our treasures in Heaven," especially the most valuable treasure of human life, instead of trying to keep them on Earth, where even a peaceful life, if it were possible, would be filled with other kinds of pain.