“9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” – 1 Peter 3:9-12 (ESV)
There is a lot going on in those verses, however I am interested in the drive to good.
We find ourselves in many situations. Some are easy and some test us. No matter the situation, we have a choice. We can be good, or we can repay with what is given.
I have encountered situations where I have to choose, and I will say, the road to repay what is given is much easier. When the situation is one where I am tested, it is really easy to “fight back”. I find it welling up inside and eventually spilling out. And how do I feel afterward, when I really think about it, I stew on it, maintain my feelings and frankly may even feel worse than before.
Now in those situations where I am able to stick with good and give love in return, I find myself walking away and the situation has passed completely. I have allowed God’s love to intervene and smooth everything over with the situation and my continued thoughts of that situation.
It is a choice for us to stick to good and love life.
Why would you choose to maintain a “fight back” mentality? What are you really getting when you choose to “repay” or “get revenge”? What if you were simply to act in love and soften your approach? What would be your benefit if you were to love life and stick to good?
Trevor's Thoughts 