Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:8-9 HCSB

In Deuteronomy chapter 28, the Israelites are told they will be blessed for their obedience. These blessings are outlined in verses 1-14. They are then told they will be cursed for disobedience and these curses are outlined for the rest of the chapter in verses 15-68.

1 Peter 3:8 warns us against doing evil or tells us to do no evil. As Christians, we are called to inherit a blessing. We are called to spend eternity with God in heaven. Our former pastor used to always say that if we go to hell, we go as trespassers because we were created to be in fellowship with God and spend eternity with Him.

We make a conscious decision as we go through life to choose good or evil, obedience or disobedience. In doing so, we face the consequences of our decisions.

1 Peter 3:10 goes on to say that the one who wants to love life and to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. I have to tell you sometimes this is the hardest thing for me to do. I struggle with keeping my mouth in check especially when I am angry at my enemies. I struggle to remember there is only one enemy controlling other humans to do their bidding. There is one enemy tempting me to mess up and satisfy my flesh.

We are then told in verse 11 if we want to love life and see good days we must turn away from evil and do what is good. We must make the choice to avoid evil.

We are also told in verse 11 we must seek peace and pursue it. Peace is not always readily available in this corrupt world. We often see wickedness everywhere we turn. We must seek peace. Philippians 4:6-8 tells us we do this by not worrying about anything but by praying to God and being thankful and letting our needs be known to Him. When we do this, we will have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, and it will guard our hearts and our minds.

Philippians 4:8 tells us we must direct our thoughts to goodness, the kind of goodness we see in Christ. This kind of goodness is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, has moral excellence and is worthy of praise. We must dwell on these things and not on the evil that is all around us.

In 1 Peter 3 verse 12, Peter explains that we must seek peace and pursue it because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. This means God watches over us and hears our prayers. Isaiah 59:2 tells us that the opposite occurs when we are unrighteous or living in unrepentant sin. It says our sin creates a barrier between us and God so that His face is hidden from us, and He cannot see us, nor can he hear us.

Peter reiterates this in verse 12 by saying, “But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.”

We were created to be in close fellowship with God. He made us in His own image. He created us to inherit a blessing, but He gives us a choice. We must choose good or evil. We must choose judgment or grace, a curse or a blessing.

I encourage you to choose wisely.

Have a great day!