Bible Verse of the Day Wednesday May 17th, 2023

1 Peter 3:9 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.

To pay back evil with evil or insult with insult expresses or suggests the perception of retaliation. The spiritually mature follower and believer in Christ Jesus will not entertain the thoughts of getting revenge or getting even. However, these thoughts do come into mature Christians' minds; this is to say that we should not fall into that revenge trap that Satan has set for us. The old saying "two wrongs don't make a right" is applicable in this situation. When someone insults us or spreads false information about us, we lower ourselves when we enter an aggressive game with them.

Malice and spite are not God's manner of affording us the satisfaction our flesh thinks we need. When we implement maliciousness, we remove the issue from God's hands. This mistake is one of the reasons that so many Christians have yet to progress in this spiritual growth. Our maliciousness, relentlessness, hatred, loathing, and resentments will only produce self-imposed despair and grief that will impede our growth in the Lord and cloud over our reception from the Holy Spirit. God's chastisement will come our way when we attempt to physically, spiritually, or emotionally hurt another human being. The possibility looms that God might spare the rod, so to speak, on the other person and apply it to us (Matthew 7:1-2).

This verse says that instead of repaying evil with evil, we should repay evil with blessings toward the one we feel has wronged us. God's stated manner of interaction between people is bestowing blessings on others, even if we think the other person has bestowed evil on us. God expects us to take the insults, offenses, and abuses, but He wants us to take it to the next level and bless the one that has wronged us. We do not put out a fire with fire; we use water; in the same manner, we do not extinguish evil with evil; we apply blessings. 

Spiritually mature Christians will retaliate with blessings on the person that has wronged us (Matthew 5:44). As saved, born again, washed in the blood, followers, and believers in Christ Jesus are called on to do the tough and challenging thing. However, God has given us the tool that will allow us to follow His directions, the supreme power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

God has called His faithful followers and believers to display a mature example in the presence of those without Christ Jesus. The one that has yet to accept Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior will find this concept hard to understand and implement. However, through our example of the love of God, the ones that have not experienced salvation will see something different in us, and the Holy Spirit will call them to repentance and surrender to Christ Jesus.