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.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
1 Peter 3:9, 12 NIV
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
It happens to all of us. We are insulted, maybe because of our faith in Christ. But it could also be for a variety of other things: our gender, our skin color, our education, our ethnic background, etc. It may be more than just insulting words. You might experience hurtful actions coming from another person. If you live in this world, you will experience these things. And, unfortunately, you may also be exposed to them from other believers within the church.
But when it happens, how are we to respond? Our natural impulse is to respond in kind. When insulted, we want to insult back. When hurt, we want to hurt back. But Peter tells us to react differently. Instead of repaying the insult or evil with insult or evil, we should repay with a blessing. Why? Peter tells us that we will experience God’s blessing as we respond with a blessing.
Peter goes on to say that the Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their prayer. But that he opposes those who do evil. This is directly related to how I respond to insults and evil. If I respond to insult with insult, it will hinder my relationship with my Lord. But if I respond to insults with blessing, it results in a closer relationship.
It contradicts our natural instinct to respond to an insult with a blessing. But it is to our advantage as believers, helping us to experience God’s blessing. As well as the positive influence it can have on the one insulting you.
