Do This for the Lord
1 Peter 2:13,15,16 Be willing to serve the people who have authority in this world. Do this for the Lord. Obey the king, the highest authority… When you do good, you stop ignorant people from saying foolish things about you. This is what God wants. Live like free people, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as those who are serving God.
If there’s one thing a pandemic will do in putting pressure on societies, governments and individuals, it’s creating conflict and dissent. We’ve seen that over and over around the world these past eighteen months. We’ve seen it even in our own backyards. Pressure creates conflict.
So what are we to do? Should we blindly support bad political leadership? Should we speak out? Should we remain silent, subservient, complicit even, to the misdeeds of our leaders? It’s not easy, is it? Writing to Christians being subjected to fiery persecution by the governing authorities of the day, the Apostle Peter says this:
1 Peter 2:13,15,16 Be willing to serve the people who have authority in this world. Do this for the Lord. Obey the king, the highest authority… When you do good, you stop ignorant people from saying foolish things about you. This is what God wants. Live like free people, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as those who are serving God.
Of course, there are times when we do need to speak out against wrongs. But all too often I see so-called “Christians” spitting out vitriol against this party or that, this leader or that. Why? Just because … because with social media being what it is, we seem to be in an ever-descending spiral of opinionated anger and criticism.
What if, instead, we who call ourselves by Christ’s name – Christians – used our lives to do good? To obey governments with a good heart, even when we disagree. To choose not to participate in mudslinging. And when do we feel that it’s important to speak out against an evil, doing so in wisdom and in love. What if?
This is what God wants. Live like free people, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as those who are serving God.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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