Wednesday, April 19 – 1 Peter 2:17

Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

Some rules are easier to follow than others. We wrestle to understand why some rules even exist while we may understand others but still struggle to follow them. In this verse, Peter exhorted his readers in several areas. Some of these may come more naturally to us than others. Loving “the brotherhood” may feel natural when we have a community of faith to support us, but it may be more difficult to honor the politician we disagree with.

When we are pressed with struggle or conflict, the parts of Scripture that are most difficult for us often fall to the wayside. We quickly forget to honor all people when they dishonor us, we neglect loving the fellowship of believers when we feel distant from the church, we don’t fear God when we forget who He is, and we don’t honor the President or other government officials when we sharply disagree with them.

But Ephesians 5:15-17 says “So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” The way we conduct ourselves in our speech and in our behavior matters to God and impacts our witness. We are called to pay attention to how we live because it is easy to fall into disrespect when we disagree. In all things, at all times, we reflect our Savior, and by His Spirit, we can live out this call of honoring others even when it’s hard.

• How do you typically respond when you disagree with government officials?
• When have you forgotten to pay attention to how you walk or respond to conflict? What usually happens in these moments?
• Pray and ask God to help you honor others for His sake.