1 Peter 2:18-20

1 Peter 2:18-20

Slaves – while being subject to the masters in all fear – honor not only to the good ones and the gentle ones but also to the unscrupulous ones.  For this is grace: because of an awareness of God someone endures distress while suffering unjustly.  For where is the credit if while sinning and while being beating you will also endure?  But if while doing good and while suffering you will endure this is grace from God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter gives us a tough directive that we’d really like to try and reinterpret.  We need to honor the good people, the gentle people, and also the unscrupulous ones.  Peter isn’t saying we need to look up to the unscrupulous ones and follow their example.  Let that not be so!  But Peter is saying that we need to honor an authority – even if they are unscrupulous.  Again, this goes back to citizenship.  If I consider myself a citizen in this world and am always looking for my own advantage in this world, I am going to find it difficult to give honor to unscrupulous people.  But if I am simply a foreigner in this world awaiting my genuine citizenship in the world to come, what does it really cost me to show genuine respect to even an unscrupulous authority?  Again, I don’t want to lift up such a person as a role model.  But what does it truly cost to treat an unscrupulous person with love?

Do you have difficulty showing love to genuinely unscrupulous people?  Why might this be a difficult task?

Second Thought:

I love Peter’s blunt logic in the middle of this passage.  What is the credit for enduring distress that came about because of our sin?  If we deserve punishment and consequences, what credit is it to us when it comes and we have to deal with it?  Of course, it is better to accept responsibility and deal with the consequences than to skirt the topic and avoid it.  But the truth is that it would be even better if we had chosen correctly and not had to deal with the consequences at all!  When we get what we deserve, that is not credit to us but merely consequences we have earned.  It is important to keep this in mind.  Occasionally we lead difficult lives because the world around us is evil.  Often we lead difficult lives because of the choices that we have made.

Do you ever seek pity when you are dealing with consequences you earned?  What is the difference between seeking pity for your consequences and finding support through consequences that you know you have earned?

Third Thought:

The last sentence of this passage is difficult to really get at the truth of what Peter is actually saying.  It is very easy to read this verse and actually get on a very high horse in thinking that the person who does good and suffers for it is the more righteous person.  But that isn’t what Peter is talking about.  Yes, it is a righteous act to endure suffering while doing good.  But it isn’t because we are righteous!  The only reason that we can endure in the midst of suffering – especially when we are doing good – is because of God’s grace!  When we are suffering and find within ourselves the ability to endure it and not retaliate, that is God’s grace upon us!  We are the evident recipients of God’s grace when we can react differently than our nature would indicate we should react.

Have you ever thought about your ability to bear under suffering and persecution as evidence of God’s grace upon your life?  Why is this an important understanding to have in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Peter 2:21-23