Tender Heart and Humble Mind
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1 Peter 3:8-16
8. Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. 9. Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10. For "He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; 11. let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil." 13. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right? 14. But even if you do suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15. but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; 16. and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
These words a little hard to swallow! When I watch the news I hear politicians putting a “spin” on the voting record and even on the character of their opponent. I see that powerful CEO’s get off scot-free for embezzling, or at a minimum mismanaging, millions of investor’s dollars and getting away with it -- or serving minimal jail terms. It doesn’t seem to me that very many of those who turn to evil suffer any consequence at all! Even in the everyday operations of our own business places we see dishonesty, deceit, one-upmanship, and really just about anything else that enables one to “get ahead.”
Peter does more than caution us not to conform to the behavior of sinners. He urges us to serve as a testimony to those who have been mislead and misguided. We are to live our lives as examples to those who are easily led astray. And more, even if we end up getting the “raw deal” we are not to speak ill of the individual behind his back. We are rather to pray for him! And, we are to remain true to what we believe, even if it means we don’t get that promotion or raise, even if we get passed over for every recognition and notice. Because we have already been noticed by the God who rewards his beloved.
And in our daily lives, we are not to grumble against the aggressive driver who cuts us off in traffic, or the difficult customer in line in front of us. We’re not to judge the homeless man on the corner or the wealthy family in the expensive neighborhood. We are to view each of these individuals as if they were Christ himself--and as if we were viewing them through the eyes of Christ.
More than all this, we are to be humble and gentle, so that when someone approaches us about how we are able to maintain hope and joy in the midst of “persecution” we will be approachable. We cannot testify to loving and gracious God if we are not loving and gracious. We cannot proclaim God’s mercy if we are not ourselves merciful. We cannot convince others that God has made a place in his kingdom for even the worse sinner who repents, if we aren’t willing to share our own salvation story.
We are all broken and fall short of the perfection of Jesus Christ. That is the first part of the message we are to bring to the world. The second part is that God sent Christ to pay the price for each of us and so afford us a place in eternity with him.
I hope today you represent Christ to this fallen, sin-filled world. And that you share your own story of salvation, healing and hope with everyone you meet.
Mary
