1 Peter 3 - 6.4.24

SCRIPTURE:  1 Peter 3:8 - 9

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 

OBSERVATION:

The prior verses, 1 – 7, are focused on instruction to wives and husbands (which is a great topic too – a must read for all married couples) but this section is about how all Christians are called to handle difficult situations, relationships and harsh treatment.

Peter begins by calling all Christians to be like-minded. The Greek translation of the word “homophron” is to be single-minded or of one mind. Dictionary.com says “having a similar or identical opinion, disposition, etc.  To the early church and to even the church of today, we’re all so different yet we’re called, within the fellowship of believers, to have the same perspective, in unity.  How can this be accomplished when we might have different opinions or viewpoints? Personally, I can say on one hand it’s easy and on the other it’s tough. The easy way is when I view a fellow Christian or situation as Christ sees it/them. When viewed through my human eyes, the thoughts and opinions can sway in different directions.

Peter goes on to discuss how to handle the sufferings and difficulties that happen from unbelievers (and could also apply in any situation) towards us. We’re charged with not responding to evil with evil or insults with more insults. Our sinful nature can easily go to the “get even” mode or responding back with the same words or actions we’re encountering. It’s so easy to walk down the wrong path when suffering or being insulted or treated in a wrong way.  We’re encourage to repay the evil deeds, word, or actions with a blessing. Here’s the sweet part – we inherit a blessing when our response is a blessing to the person doing wrong.

APPLICATION

I think God understands the challenge of being single-minded by taking the instruction a step further by saying we should be “sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” When showing sympathy, the focus is off the current situation and towards the other person’s situation or thoughts. Maybe the other person has a history on the disagreement, is going through a rough time, maybe was hurt by someone, received bad information or instruction, etc.  When being sympathetic towards someone else, we’re actively showing them love, compassion and being humble.

God also knows our sinful human nature. We want to defend ourselves when evil or insults are thrown around. It’s easy to quickly respond back when we’re the victim. We want to fight and make it “right” in our own eyes. But God has a better way! Repaying evil with a blessing will have a profound impact on the other person. Can you imagine the other person receiving a blessing instead of what they might deserve from the evil or insult they are giving out? They might feel convicted, shocked and even curious why you’re not responding in the normal, human way. Isn’t this the exact reason we came to know Jesus? We’re loved and forgiven (given a blessing) when we justly deserve the opposite from our sinful life.  Ultimately the person who has done wrong might come to know Jesus because of a kind response. No matter the outcome with the other person, God’s promise to us for handling the wrongs with the right response is “so that you many inherit a blessing.” Praise God for his blessings! 

PRAYER

Lord, you created us all as individuals yet we’re one family in you! Help me to always remember to be unified with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  If there is ever a disagreement or difficulty, help me to sympathize, love, show compassion and humble myself to the other person and before you. Ultimately, I want to be in unity with all believers especially knowing I’ll be spending eternity with them. If anyone (non-believer or believer) shows me any form of evil or insult, help me to shower them in your blessings. I pray any person who is shown blessings comes to know you! Amen

- Mary Oberg