1 Peter 3:10
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless - that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.
Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good,
Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful;
Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth.
God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Do you know someone who seems to enjoy constantly stirring up trouble? This person never seems to have anything kind or positive to say – about anything or anyone. And their “frankness” is often hurtful to those on the receiving end.
We’ve really gotten to a point as a culture where we run fast and loose with our criticism and sarcasm. From late night talk show hosts to the “fashion show” critics to, most certainly, the political analysts and commentators, everything seems to be “fair game.” Even the “judges” on the reality shows like “America’s Got Talent” and the sports commentators have come to feel they have a license to say whatever they think – or to try to be cute and witty – all at someone else’s expense.
We get so caught up in this that we don’t even realize when we start to blur the lines between truth and fiction. It’s much like the elderly people who tell others, “my kids never visit me,” when in fact, the person to whom they are speaking met the senior’s children in the doorway. At least these folks have old age and the onset of dementia for excuses! But we don’t have any excuse. Saying things that are unkind, cutting, sarcastic, and downright untrue at times – or constantly griping, grumbling and being disagreeable – does not please God.
I love the first lines of this passage and feel they bear repeating… “Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless - that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.
Don’t you want to be a blessing? Don’t you want to get a blessing? Then start today to bless – let all of the junk go by the wayside and focus on running after peace, cultivating good, and snubbing evil. You’ll be amazed as you watch your days “fill up with good” … and you will bask in the approving response of our loving God.
©2010 Debbie Robus
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