Refusing to Revile

Verse of the day: 1 Peter 3:9-11 Never give back evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, giving blessing, knowing that you are called to this so that you might inherit blessing. 10 For he that wants to love life and to see good days, let him restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile. 11 Let him turn aside from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it.

Our Greatest Example of how to respond to evil was demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures tell us that when He was reviled, He did not revile in return. He did not threaten, but instead gave Himself in obedience to His Father's will (1 Pt 2:23). For us, as human beings, that can be quite the challenge, but in Christ not impossible. The fact of the matter is that every day we deal with other people. We deal with selfishness, pride, conceit, just to name a few; and though we ourselves may sometimes suffer from some of these same things, we will constantly have to prayerfully remind ourselves of how God calls us to respond to the way other people treat us (whether it be a spouse, other family member, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or stranger). It is very easy to lash out when people treat us with a lack of respect or treat us as if they are better than us. As God's children we will suffer criticism, and be mocked for our beliefs. People will speak lies about us, and even blame us for things that are really their own fault (because of their own choices), but will want to point the finger at us. Our first, and natural, inclination is to defend ourselves. However, let us be reminded that Jesus did not defend Himself when He was accused by false witnesses. We too are called to be silent during those moments, because God will plead our case, in His time. Vengeance belongs to Him. Instead, we are called to return good, and kindness. We are to refuse to speak evil, and use foul language in retaliation for the evil done to us; rather than curse we are to pray for them, and show them love. Again, not easy, but always possible in Christ. The bottom line is that when we react to others in the same way they treat us, we miss out on the blessing of being obedient to our Lord. As stated in verse 9, "giving blessing, knowing that you are called to this so that you might inherit blessing." What blessing? The blessing of seeing God work on, and change, the person's heart who wronged us (in His way, and His time). The blessing of knowing that we have a clear conscience before God for doing what is right before Him. The blessing of gaining eternal reward for doing right when we could have done wrong. The blessing of seeing what God does when we choose to be salt and light; trusting Him to be God in our lives. God calls us to be at peace with others, as much as is within us (Rm 12:18), and as long as we have done that, it is on the other person to be at peace with us. As long as we have done what we are supposed to do, the other will answer, ultimately, to God. Let us do all that we can to pursue peace, and trust our Lord for the results (no matter what it might look like to us). In the process, we may be surprised what we learn about ourselves, and how much we grow in maturity and our knowledge of Christ; and how much our peace and joy is increased. Do not let others take control of you by allowing them to plant bitterness in your heart. Let the peace of God, the love of God, keep bitterness from taking root, and show it by the way you respond (with love, grace, and goodness) to those who treat you unfairly or unkindly.