“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.” 1 Peter 3.8-9
Human nature says fight, stand up for yourself, make a defense, don’t back down. And whereas there might be specific times to do just that, here in this passage Peter tells us just the opposite. He’s speaking to Christians, to the church, therefore, none of us are with out excuse.
What exactly does Peter instruct us to do? “Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” He says, do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult,” but “repay evil with blessing…so that you might inherit a blessing.”
This goes against everything I was taught. Never growing up do I remember being told to back down. Our great nation was built on standing up for rights, fighting back, not giving in. But Jesus says there is another way and that is the way of peace. What if we reversed our mentality to always get our way, to always be right, to release our pride and seek peace? What if we did that which Peter instructs?
I would say that about 85% of the time I am doing just this. It wasn’t always so. But the older and more mature I get, I strive for God-control, Spirit-control, being like Jesus. To be like him means we will be like-minded. That we will be sympathetic to others and in doing so, we will love our friends and our enemies.
The inheritance for being like Christ is to be blessed. If we love others we will receive from God a spiritual blessing and in doing so we will win others into the Kingdom of our Lord.
“O Lord God, I confess I have sinned against you. Thank you for loving me in spite of my disobedience. Thank you for