Friday, May 1, 2020

An Honorable Life


Friday, May 1, 2020

For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 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.  It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.  For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.  Respect everyone, and love the family of believers.  Fear God, and respect the king.  1 Peter 2:13-17

Adolph Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany in the early/mid 20th century was a passionate man who had little or no compassion for others.  He knew what he wanted to accomplish, and his actions proved his methods built a life and legacy without honor; the man was a monster.
It matters WHAT you accomplish with your life, but, frankly, it is just as important, and perhaps, more important, HOW you do it.  All the good (supposedly) intentions in the world are useless unless they are met with actions which honor the good you intend to do. 
It is said that an honorable life is where integrity for doing right meets living.  Peter expressed this in six memorable words:  Fear God, and respect the king.  Of course the word “fear” means to honor, or revere, in the sense that we keep in mind God is sovereign, holy, and almighty; we fear (or honor) God, by not neglecting God’s way in our own actions.  In so doing we put to silence foolish accusations.
There have been plenty of movements in recent years that are honorably conceived, such as Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and others of social-justice, that have plenty of strong basis in Scripture.  Accomplishing racial, gender, and economic parity in the realms of freedom and human dignity are goals worthy of Godly standard.  But, as stated previously, HOW these are achieved are also vitally central to the results.  When a protest against some ungodly oppression, or practice of one group toward another turns ugly, there is little honor for our God. 
A prime example of this is the collapse of decency and restraint in the early 1990’s when the “Rodney King riots” in Los Angeles errupted over a police chase and savage beating of the suspect was caught on video.  The ensuing inconclusive action by the legal system preciptated violent riots in which more than 50 people lost their lives over 6 days.[1]
It is one thing to protest violence, but when your protest is conveyed by violent means, it isn’t fighting fire with fire; it’s adding more unholy fuel to a raging downward spiral of hatred, fear, and unleashed evil.
The apostle Peter had a moment like that in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Judas led the Roman Guard to arrest Jesus, betryaing the son of God with a kiss on the cheek.  Peter protested by swinging his sword and cutting off the ear of Malchus, servant of the High Priest[2].  Peter’s intention to prevent the crucifixion of Jesus was righteous; his actions were not.  Had Jesus not stopped the hostilities by healing Malchus’ injury, there might have been a dozen crucifixions that day.  Added violence never solves anything; it certainly can neve be called “honorable” in anyone’s life.
For You Today
The difference between loving peace and making peace is as wide as night and day.  Loving peace merely requires thinking and supposing you’re right in the way you conceive peace ought to look.  To be a peace maker requires putting your motives and methods on trial in your heart every waking moment, and living with what the court of conscience rules.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
Title Image:  Military.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on 1 Peter 2 see Honorable Behavior Part 1 and Part 2

No comments:

Post a Comment