I am often troubled by how my own behavior is no different from that of people who don't follow Jesus. I get irritated by something someone says or writes and feel like I have to respond. I spend most of my day thinking on things of myself and not things of the Lord. I criticize others in private when I should either be silent or offer to help. My list of failings in this area is quite long, with recent examples.
Christians need to be interested in what it means every day to be "in the world but not of the world (Romans 12:2). When we allow God to move in us like this, we are naturally different from everyone else we encounter. It should be that way! Scripture says that our home is not here. We are literally foreigners in this land, and foreigners do not follow the customs of the local culture. All they know are their own, and even when they learn the local ways, they do not often adopt those ways.
What, instead do we see in these days in America? We see far too many supposed followers of Jesus Christ who are indistinguishable from those around them. These folks listen to the teachings of Jesus and agree with them, but then don't follow them at all Monday through Saturday. Too many are quick to argue, quick to judge even when the "plank" hasn't been removed from their eye, quick to fight, quick to get angry, and quick to use harsh or insulting language against someone who disagrees with them. And on top of that, they support public figures who do these things and even defend their actions.
When the world sees Christians behaving that way, why would they want that? The apparent difference is in words only, with no actions to back it up.
In contrast, the Apostle Peter wrote some wonderful words describing what daily life of a true follower of Jesus looks like. These days it seems that many who call themselves Christians have forgotten them, or feel they don't apply in all contexts. And yet the words are timeless and are spoken as commands! Let's have a look.
1 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT) Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters.[a] Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.
There is a lot here. Let's start with "be of one mind." Peter is speaking here to Christians being of one mind, which means we agree on the important things. We agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died for our sins and was resurrected and seen by many, and then ascended to Heaven. These are the foundational things that we must agree on. And being of one mind means that there are secondary things that we may feel a little differently about but can move past. There's a huge list of those things, depending on the local church and circumstances. Being of one mind means we will let it go when someone says one of those secondary items and we don't die on that hill. We maintain peace between us because Jesus Christ is the only thing that matters.
Sympathizing with each other means we care for each other. We know what is happening in each other's lives because we care, and we work to share those burdens. That means when another is hurting, we hurt with them. When another person is joyful, we rejoice with them. We are in their lives and they are in ours. We have sympathy for them because we know what has been going on with them and have been down that road too. We are the good Samaritan who stops to help the man who has been beaten and robbed so that we can bandage the wounds and nurse them to health. We are the one who sees someone without enough food or who has lost a loved one and we sit there with them in that mess. We are Job's friends in the first few chapters of the book of Job who simply sat in silence as Job mourned his countless losses. We don't avoid the trouble others are having because we ourselves have experienced trouble and hurt and hardship and were helped by Jesus. I am thankful he never abandons us or walks by when he sees us in a tough spot.
We also love each others as brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters don't always agree and they don't have to. But brothers and sisters never give up on each other because they are family. Brothers and sisters apologize when they have offended the other. Brothers and sisters step up when the other is in hardship or hard times so that they can help. That all comes from love, which is a bond that isn't meant to be broken between siblings. In fact, Jesus himself said that Christians will be known by their love for each other (John 13:35).
Being tenderhearted and maintaining a humble attitude means we know we are not always right, and we don't have to be right. We listen before we speak, and when we don't agree we just let it go as long as it doesn't have to do with the main thing, which is who Jesus is and what he did.
And perhaps the words that cut the deepest in our society are from verse 9.
9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.
In our society loaded with public figures and social media posts which regularly label others as idiots, liars, totally evil, etc, we need to remember these words. If you share your opinion, particularly on spiritual matters, and are called by one of these names or worse, you are to do nothing in return but bless the person. That's right. Nothing. No words need to be said in anger or otherwise. Even if you share your opinions on other matters and are insulted, do nothing. You don't need to respond! That's what the rest of the world does, and you are not part of this world, Christian! Jesus went so far as to say if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn your head so they can slap the left one too (Matthew 5:38-42).
And what about those around you who engage in such behavior and profess to be Christians? Here we find an interesting statement from the Apostle Paul that runs completely counter to the way many churchgoers today feel. Many today believe that they should isolate themselves from the world and do everything they can to insulate from nonchristians. This affects the friends they have, the schools their kids attend, and the neighborhoods they live in. And yet the Apostle Paul said these words:
1 Corinthians 5:11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believerj yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.
If you have read the New Testament you see a picture of Jesus living this out. He spent all of his times with society's outcasts and the worst of the worst sinners, even eating dinner with them. And his most harsh words were for the ones who supposedly were the religious leaders. Let's follow his example in our day to day life!
Now let's wrap this up by making it practical in your life.
- If we aren't supposed to repay evil for evil, why do we tolerate public figures and politicians who do the same with their words?
- Why do we give our attention to podcasts and talk radio hosts and TV personalities who frequently call people names because they have a belief different from their own?
- Why do we pay attention to friends and family members on social media, and even respond, when they have posted things that are inflammatory towards other people?
- Why do we entertain ourselves by watching TV shows or YouTube clips of people who tear others down or deliberately get into arguments?
Just. Stop. Paying attention to media like this is a choice. Defending the evil, cutting words of others because they happen to agree with you on a matter is also a choice. It isn't something you are forced to do. And consider this: has paying attention to any of those things actually improved your life? Do you feel better about things or worse when you spend your time on the items above?
The danger is that we get into the mindset that we must follow these things as rules. It becomes a Christian checklist. What Peter is actually describing, though, is the outcome of having Jesus in your life. Having him in your life is different from praying some prayer to "ask him in your heart" and then going back to life as it was. His description is what it looks like for someone who has surrendered themselves to the Holy Spirit and allows him to work everyday in their behaviors and speech. That makes all of the things that Peter listed become indicators of the work that happened in the heart.
Think of it this way. How do you tell when a piece of fruit is ripe? You look at the color and the smell and the feel of it. An apple that is red on the outside should be sweet on the inside.
In the same way, the outward actions and words of a Christian should reflect what has happened on the inside. It is impossible to fake this for very long. Either the change has occurred inside or it has not. To do this right, I think we need to be silent before the Lord and allow him to work to change us. We should read the words in the Bible and ask the Lord to help us work these things out in our lives. We should submit our mouths, and our keyboards, to the Lord before we say anything.
Let's dare to be different.
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