1 Peter 3:8-9 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” This episode talks about how God does not want us to repay evil with evil. On the contrary He wants us to repay evil with a blessing. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Do Not Repay Evil With Evil
1 Peter 3:8-9 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
I came across this verse while I was doing a study about the 9 fruits of the Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit is Love, or at least it is in this series. This month I have been learning all about what the Bible says about love and also how I define love. My spiritual director asked me that very same question last month, so when I read it in this study I felt like it was a sign that I was on the right track. It has been a really interesting study. If you want to check it out you can find it on Amazon. It is called the Nine Fruits of the Spirit; a devotion series by Robert Strand. I think you may need to buy each one separate as I didn’t really see a set with all of them together when I looked.
What stuck out to me most when I read this verse was the line in the middle. It says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.” We do this so often, it’s like second nature. We may think that we don’t, and we probably don’t want to, but we do it more than we would like. Think about when you are driving in your car and someone cuts you off. How do you react? What about when you are checking out in line and the cashier is new and is taking a very long time. How do you react in that circumstance? What about when someone says something unkind to you? Do you repay that with an unkind word back to them?
I think this probably stuck out to me because I have been a little grumpier than usual lately. Usually if people cut me off in traffic, I don’t mind that much. I can put myself in their shoes and also I know that me getting upset at them and saying something to them while I am in my car and they are in their car doesn’t do anything to change the situation. It might make me in a bad mood, but they have already moved on and they can’t hear anything I say in my car anyway. However, if I say something unkind it will affect my mood. Actually, you don’t even have to say it, you just have to think it and your mood is affected. Isn’t that annoying? Sometimes I get frustrated because I don’t say something, I just think it and then I get in a bad mood. This is why it is so important to think about the things you tell yourself.
It is important to check in with yourself on your thoughts, especially if you are irritated at something that someone has done to you. Let’s use the idea of waiting in line as an example. I am sure with the holiday seasons just ending, we can all remember waiting in line for something. If we are waiting in the line and we are thinking that it is taking too long we can start to get angry at the people in front of us for buying too many things, we can get mad at the cashier for not knowing how to do her job, or for going really slow. We can get upset over any number of things. However, what will that do for us? Would you rather be in line happily waiting, or angrily waiting? There is a definite difference between the two. There is a physical difference. If you are angrily waiting in line, you are not in a good mood. You probably have this tight feeling your stomach and you may even be rude to those around you. If you are happily waiting, you are probably just looking around at the various things to buy while you wait. You are pleasant to those around you and you feel great physically probably.
We have the option at any time to choose how we feel. Well, there is something called our initial reactions that we can’t choose. Something happens and then we instantly feel a certain way about. However, we get to decide if that is how we want to continue to feel, or if we want to change how we are feeling. I have spent a lot of time working on my feelings. The way that you feel is directly related to the story or meaning you are assigning to the circumstance. Have you ever wondered why you react differently than others when certain things happen? For instance, you and I could both be stuck in traffic and one of us could be sitting there getting angrier and angrier and the other one could be singing along loudly to music, or listening to a podcast.
I used to get very upset with traffic. I would just sit in it and think about how late I was going to be and what that meant for whatever I was going to do. If I was going to work I would then think how upset my boss would be, how I wouldn’t get my work done, etc. My mind would just keep spiraling. Then one day, after reading lots of books, I realized, my thinking all of this didn’t change the outcome. Whether I sat there being upset about being stuck in traffic, or I used this new found time to catch up with a friend, sing with the radio, or listen to an audio book, I was still sitting in traffic and I would still get there at the same time. Which way sounds like a better use of your time?
I tell you all of this because it is the same with repaying evil for evil. You will not feel better after you do it. Actually most of the time you feel worse. It may feel good in that initial moment when you said that unkind thing back to them when they totally deserved it. Then the initial feeling wears off and you start to feel bad for saying it because you are a good person. The Lord is telling us in this verse to be compassionate and to love one another. He is not telling us to do this only when it is easy and only when we feel like it. It says in Luke 6:32-33, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.” If we can’t repay evil with evil, then what do we do when someone does something to us?
The next line in the verse addresses this. It says, "On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” This may not seem to make any sense. You may be wondering why you would bless someone when they just did something unkind to you. I can think of two really good reasons. The first one is that God is telling us this is what He wants us to do in this verse. He is telling us to repay evil with blessing. The second is because you will feel so much better afterwards. If you say or do something unkind in response then you will have that on your conscience and you will feel bad about it. However, if you bless that person then you won’t have anything negative on your conscience weighing you down.
I remember one time at prayer group a woman was talking about how she was standing in line at the grocery store once and everyone in line was getting upset because the cashier was new and so she was really slow. She said people were saying unkind things under their breath. She said she was annoyed to and then she saw the cashiers face. She was clearly overwhelmed and unhappy that she was going so slow. My friend’s heart was filled with such compassion and she said she instantly said a prayer of blessing for that cashier. She said now she does it every time she starts to get impatient with someone, well every time she remembers to. My friend said doing this has helped her grow in compassion. We never know what the other person is going through. Maybe they are not really a mean person, they are just having a bad day. Maybe something terrible just happened and they are acting out. We don’t know what their motivation for being unkind was. However, we can keep our motivations pure and just bless them instead of repaying evil for evil.
God says we are called to do this so that we may inherit a blessing. What do we inherit if we repay evil with evil? I’m not sure, but it is nothing good I can guarantee that. However, if we do as we are called to do and repay evil with a blessing then we will inherit a blessing. It seems like it is worth the trade off. What do you think? Do you think the next time you want to repay evil with evil you can remember this verse and instead stop and say a quick blessing for that person. It might not be automatic. I still get annoyed initially when someone drives like a manic on the road, cuts me off, or does something unkind. Then I try to stop my thoughts and remind myself to say a prayer for them. Give it a try. It honestly changes your whole mood. It is really difficult to be angry with someone when you are praying for them. Let’s spread kindness more. Let’s try and let God’s love and light shine through us and through the darkness of evil.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to be compassionate and to love one another. Help us to repay evil with a blessing instead of with evil. Help us remember this in the moment when we want to respond unkindly. Lord give us the power to overcome our desire to be unkind and to respond as you would respond. Help us to shine your light on all those we come in contact with. Help us to spread your love and peace to all those we meet. Lord we are so very grateful for all that you do for us. You are amazing and we love you. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow. Have a blessed day!