Whoever Desires to Love Life

"Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For

“Whoever desires to love life

    and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

    and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good;

    let him seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:8-11 ESV).

This word “unity” is a big “buzz word” across the globe, so we need to test it whenever we hear it to check to see what we are being asked to unify with. For even within the gatherings of what are called “churches,” much of the unity being pushed is not unity with God and with his will and purposes for our lives, but it is unity with human beings in their marketing goals and visions and schemes and methodology. Or it is unity with a particular theology of humans or with a particular religious “church” denomination.

But when the Scriptures teach us that we are to have unity of mind with one another, it is speaking of the mind of Christ, which is of the will of God for our lives, not of the will of humans and their own way of thinking. We are all to be united with Christ in heart and mind and purpose, and then we can be united with one another with that same mind. Otherwise there will always be friction and disagreements and quarrels, for some will have the mind of Christ while others will still have minds of the flesh, contrary to Christ.

Now I am not suggesting that we who are Christlike in our thinking (not perfectly) should engage in quarreling with others who are not likeminded with us. We should not. But we are to contend for the faith, and we are to speak the truth of God’s word, and we are to respectfully refute the lies of the enemy and expose the fruitless deeds of darkness. So we are allowed to speak against what is evil and immoral and the lies which are being spoken in the name of truth. But we are not to get into useless fights. Walk away!

So, the unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender hearts, and humble minds must all be centered in the character and the will of God for our lives, and all must agree with and be consistent with the teachings of the Scriptures and not be of a human (fleshly) nature. For even brotherly love must be centered in the love of God which prefers what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, upright, godly, faithful, honest, and submissive and obedient to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant).

Thus, all will not be selfish in nature, but will show regard for God’s will and purpose, and for the legitimate needs of others. Thus, we won’t be “get even” kind of people when we think “our rights” are being stomped on, or when we feel we did not get a fair deal, or when others do evil against us to harm us. For didn’t we learn early on in life that “life is not fair”? Was Jesus treated fairly? No! Did he retaliate? No! And we are not to do so, either. But we are to forgive, to love, to pray for, and to do good to our enemies.

So, no matter how other people treat us, we are to have the right response which is not to trade “tit for tat.” But it is love, and it is forgiveness. Now forgiveness is not permission for others to sin against us. When Jesus forgives our sins he says to go and sin no more. His forgiveness of sins is not ever an excuse to continue in deliberate and habitual sin. He sets boundaries we are not to cross over, and if we do, there are consequences. And we can set boundaries, too, regarding what we will allow.

But this doesn’t mean that others won’t cross those boundaries. But if they do, we are still to forgive, not retaliate. But we can confront others with their sins against us, and where possible we can withdraw from those who are deliberately doing evil against us and who are refusing to respect our boundaries. But the Scriptures do teach us that if we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, and if we are walking in obedience to his commands, and if we are bearing witness for the gospel, we will be hated and persecuted.

But we are to love where people revile us. And we are to bless, and not curse. And we are to forgive. And we can speak the truth in love, and we can take certain steps to protect ourselves from harm, sometimes, and sometimes we must just walk away, but we are not to retaliate! We are to keep our tongues from speaking evil, and especially from speaking lies. And we are to turn away from all evil and do good, and to pursue peace, but not compromise of truth, morals, and the teachings of the Scriptures.

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12 ESV).

So, we need to take this to heart and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) and not be those who are following the ways of human flesh and of the will of man instead of the ways of God and the mind and will of God for our lives. Always do what is right, not what is wrong.

A Shield About Me

By Thomas Donn Charles / Williams Charles Henry

Thou Oh LORD, art a shield about me

You're my glory and my lifter of my head

Thou Oh LORD, art a shield about me

You're my glory and my lifter of my head

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

You're the lifter of my head

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPCUmT6mj48 

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