1 Peter 2:12 (NIV) “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
PAGAN defined: 1) One who has no religion; 2) An adherent of a religion other than Judaism, Christianity, or Islam; 3) a hedonist.*
HEDONISM defined: 1) Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses; 2) Philosophy The ethical doctrine holding that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good; 3) Psychology The doctrine holding that behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain.*
Those that have faults delight in pointing out the faults in others. It makes them seem more “normal” in their own minds. Another person’s vulnerability and weakness makes those finger pointers feel morally and/or ethically superior, in spite of their own flaws. It is beside the point that those being pointed out have never even pretended to be superior to anyone in any way. The perception that they are superior fuels the fire of those who are struggling with their own humanity.
Those who seek pleasure see nothing wrong with it in that, generally speaking, it neither harms, nor effects anyone other then the immediate participants. “Live and let live”. But life doesn’t work that way. Every word and/or deed brings about a subsequent action and/or reaction, many times unpleasant. Those who seem to have it all together are railed upon and verbally abused for their supposed calmness in the face of the fury of circumstances. It must be infuriating for those who do not know Christ.
All scripture tells us to do with such people is to live good lives among them. As Christ was silent when the Roman soldiers beat the crown of thorns down around his head, causing the long, sharp Judean thorns to dig into his scalp, drawing blood, we are to say nothing, but love them in silence by not giving back to them in like manner to that which they have given to us. It is God Who will “heap burning coals upon their heads” as their angry words of envy fall helplessly to the ground. Deep in their soul they know they are wrong. They, just like us, were born with a sense of good and evil, right and wrong. They are on a different path, going in a different direction, yet they are far from unredeemable. Do not shun them for their differences … befriend them. Reach out to them. We are not any different then they are, except that we have decided to follow the path that leads to life rather than death. It is like this: we have gone to court with a lawyer, they have none. They are unable to defend their actions. Neither are we, but our advocate is. So you see, aside from Christ, we are not very much different than those “pagans” that exist all around us.
Pray that God will allow you to see those that are lost through His eyes … to see them as He sees them. Don’t preach at them, meet their needs. Don’t avoid them; be as Christ would be to them. Christ didn’t condemn those He ministered to, but rather revealed their sin to them through parables and life lessons. Their own sins condemned them, as the enormity of what was taking place all around them became clear. So give good in exchange for evil and watch the fruit that grows from it.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
* all definitions courtesy of www.thefreedictionary.com
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