The Wednesday Word 5.31.2023

 

 1 Peter 2:11-18 New Living Translation

 

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. 13 For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. 16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. 17 Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. 18 You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

 

Peter is attempting to make a very plain distinction. There is the relationship we have with the people around us, specifically the hierarchy we have devised to manage and administrate the day to day activity of our society. It really doesn’t signify a hill of beans in the eternal scheme of things! Peter is trying to tell you to keep yourself above the fray. Conduct yourself honorably at all times to properly “represent” your faith. For example: obey traffic signals, tell the truth, give your bosses a proper day’s work for your pay and then pay your fair share of taxes. As Jesus said in Matthew 22:21, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” These are temporal matters that don’t really matter all that much to God, except that we have all behaved appropriately. 

 

You are a child of God, first and foremost. Your obedience in response to his loving mercy extends to your conduct in this everyday world. Do the very best you can to honor his name in everything you do…something to pray about.

 

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.

                                                                                                photo by Hampton Police Dept.

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