Scripture Daily

Context No. 4151 of 4322 · 1 Peter

Context · Reflection

1 Peter 3:7-12: in context

7You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman as to the weaker vessel, as also being joint heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. 8Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous, 9not rendering evil for evil or insult for insult; but instead blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10For, “He who would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. 11Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Peter gives a striking instruction for how believers are to treat others, especially those who wrong them: do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. When wronged or insulted, the natural response is to retaliate, to give back what we received. But Peter calls for the opposite: not repayment in kind, but blessing.

And he grounds it in Scripture: the one who would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil, turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. There is a countercultural calling here. The world's rule is to repay evil with evil, insult with insult, to get even. But the way of Christ is to break the cycle, returning blessing for cursing, good for evil. This is not weakness but a higher strength, the refusal to let another's evil dictate our response, choosing instead to bless. In blessing rather than retaliating, we walk in the footsteps of our Lord, who, when reviled, did not revile in return.

When I am wronged or insulted, do I repay evil with evil and insult with insult, or do I follow the higher way of Christ, blessing rather than retaliating, refusing to let another's evil dictate my response?

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