You're Held To A Higher Standard...

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:9

As a child of God you are held to a higher standard… The way in which others may deal with situations should not and cannot be the same way in which you deal with situations… Peter reminds us of this higher standard when He says Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insults… As you go through this life there are two principles which you must adhere too.. The first is that you must remember who you are representing; this means that you must carry yourself as a child of the Most High God doing things that bring honor to Him which is what we examined on yesterday… The second is that you must mature daily in the ability of controlling your tongue… Remember that James tells us that the tongue is unruly evil which no man can tame… These two principles are what display Christ to others and bring exaltation to His name… When you walk in love you will not indulge in evil and when you control your tongue you will lift up and edify instead of breakdown and curse… Not only must we avoid these two pitfalls, but Peter even takes it to another level when He says that we must repay with blessing… You have to be able to rise above the sin to promote a love and opening for the sinner… This requires a strong and intimate relationship with God…  Some of us have learned how to handle situations as far as avoiding the snare of the enemy; however, we still have not mastered the test as we have yet to transform that stumbling block of evil and insult into a stepping stone of love and compassion… How you handle evil and the ability to transform situations is what displays Christ and therefore promotes His grace and mercy in the lives of others… This passage simply reminds us today that we cannot walk around this earth with bitterness, unforgiveness and therefore leave an area or void of separation between us and anyone whom we come in contact with… You must reconcile and rebuild as Paul told the Church of Corinth…

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Sure people with double cross you, they will offend you, but your ministry is reconciliation which means that you cannot repay with evil and insult… How hard is it for you to turn away from somebody who has done you wrong? How hard is it to walk away from a person who has insulted you and/or gotten under your skin…? Peter reminds us today that as a child of God we show our faith by these actions! There are many times that we would like to give somebody a piece of our mind, there are many instances where we have felt that we were wronged and wanted to retaliate or address the situation. We must know and realize that by retaliating we are fueling the fire of sin and anger and replacing the promise of God (vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay…) with our own agenda. Temptation comes in many forms and evil is a main form that the devil will use to try and gain your attention and distract you from doing the will of God! Understand that by walking away you will inherit blessings; this is not a sign of weakness but maturity… As a Christian we all need to remember that God didn’t repay us for our evil and sin, he responded with a blessing in the form of Jesus Christ… Blessings poured out in times of evil reap a harvest of glory and honor to God! Jesus didn’t repay the roman soldiers that hung him on the cross, he sought there forgiveness than bowed his head; now he sits at the right hand of the father and all power has been placed in his hands! Let us draw strength from His example, live your life according to the will of God, when evil arises in your life, pour out the spirit of blessings that God has poured out on you… Speak a kind word to your enemy, lend a hand to someone who has betrayed you, and seek there forgiveness even when they have sought forgiveness from you… When you do these things, you rebuke Satan’s attack and store up more blessings from God in heaven… God has promised that you will be exalted in the face of evil (thou preparest a table for me in the presences of mine enemies…) so stand on faith in God and don’t take matters into your own hands…

BE BLESSED!!!