"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, respect 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 your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king."
The next few days, we will be studying a portion of 1 Peter that gives us instruction on how to live in different situations. I once heard a speaker, Miss Judy Hampton, talk about how she hated the phrase "Under the Circumstances" as if our circumstances were weighing us down and trapping us. As Christians, we can live "ABOVE our Circumstances" because we know that Christ is with us and working in ALL our circumstances. We should live with our mind set on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2). That's not to say that we will never feel sadness (I just had a good ol' cry last night, myself), but after some tears, we can remember that God is presently working in our situations for His glory and for our good. "Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes with the morning," (Ps. 30:5). And yes it did, thank you, Lord!
So what does this mean to live "Above our Circumstances"? Well, we are starting today with how to live amidst the unbelieving people in our lives...
Recently, I worked for a family that was lead by an abusive father/husband. The more I got to know this man, the harder it was to work for him. He was disrespectful, selfish, even occasionally violent, and he was constantly yelling...and I mean really yelling. I had never encountered this before, and it became increasingly difficult for me to function in this situation, until I finally had to resign. Thankfully, I've been told that my resignation may have been the springboard for the family to start to seek help, but my heart continues to be heavy for them.
But what I love about this verse is that I need to remember that my conduct, even when I am being greatly disrespected, accused falsely of doing wrong, and I'm angry at the situation/people around me, even then, I am still called to live honorably because the Lord does not think they are too far from His reach. Someday, that family may just be worshiping the Lord beside me in heaven, and oh how I pray they do! And this verse goes on to say that because of "your honorable behavior...they will believe and give honor to God." That's powerful! In verse 15 he says, "It is God's will that your good lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against you." In the midst of the circumstances I found myself in that house, or at work, or with my family, I am to live in a way that honors God, and my behavior will silence them and turn them toward the Lord. And we honor God in this. Again, this is bigger than ourselves!
Here's a kicker...this includes your boss. Verse 13 says, "For the Lord's sake, accept all authority..." And you may think, well there is just no way that I could ever respect that man. But the good news is, it's not about what you think of your boss. We are to accept the people in authority over us "For the Lord's sake" -- for His kingdom agenda. We are to show respect for everyone, putting them above ourselves. That is the true humility of Christ inside you. Make the choice to respect and love the people in your life, and allow God to give you the ability to even do so.
I don't know what situation you find yourself in today. What is being said about you? Who has misunderstood or misrepresented you completely? Who takes all the glory for the work you have done? I could go on and on...and I don't encourage you to stay in an abusive situation by any means (because there are definitely situations where we should not remain and be "the martyr"), but the daily human-ness of the people we are in relationship with, by choice or not, does require us to die to ourselves everyday. To choose to live for Christ.
Let me leave you with this quote from Leonard Ravenhill:
The Christian who knows he has been crucified with Christ...
has no ambition, and so has nothing to jealous about,
has no reputation, and so have nothing to fight about,
has no possessions, and therefore nothing to worry about,
has no rights, so therefore can suffer no wrong;
and is already dead, so no one can kill him.
We can live honorably, respectfully, humbly, and freely, my friends, because surely we have been crucified with Christ, and we no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in us!
Who can you show some Jesus to today? You never know; it is the Lord's will that you may be standing beside them in Heaven someday.
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