“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For,
“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:8-12 NASB1995)
We who profess faith in Jesus Christ must be godly in our conduct, in accord with God’s word. We must work for what leads to peace, but never at the compromise of the teachings of the Scriptures, or of holiness, or of moral purity, or of the gospel message. Sympathetic, yes, caring about one another and one another’s needs and concerns, but never to the extent to where we give others who profess faith in Jesus Christ free reign to continue in deliberate and in habitual sin against God and against one another.
And kindhearted is never lying to people to make them feel good, for lies are not kind. The truth, spoken in love, is kind. And humble, that is the opposite of being proud and conceited, but it is not backing down on biblical truth and only saying what makes people feel good so that they will not accuse us of being proud. And if someone speaks evil against us, we are not to speak evil against them. We can speak truth, in love, but the point here is not to get even with those who speak evil against us, but rather to show them love.
But love is not all this mushy-gushy stuff that only speaks what we know people want to hear. Jesus and his New Testament apostles were loving, caring people, but because they loved people, they spoke many hard truths to them, not because they liked hurting people, but because they felt great compassion for them and they wanted to see them be free from their slavery to sin to serve God with their lives. For to bless people is to speak to them what is spiritually beneficial for them, even if they reject the message.
So, we conduct ourselves according to the teachings of the Scriptures, not according to humanistic philosophy. We love people the way God truly loves and not according to human flesh and selfish purposes. So we keep our tongues from speaking what is contrary to God’s word, i.e. we refrain from speaking lies, and we become those who speak truth. We must not be those who compromise with evil for our own worldly pleasures, but we must turn from evil and do what is good in the eyes of the Lord, in the power of God.
And, again, seeking peace is never at the compromise of truth, godliness, righteousness, and holy living. For to be at peace with God we must be those whose lives are surrendered to the Lord to do his will, who are walking in obedience to his commands, and for whom sin is no longer our practice. For the righteous, in the eyes of the Lord, are not those who merely give lip service to God, but they are those who are living righteously, for whom righteousness is their practice, not just their profession with their lips.
And, on that note let me mention here that when the Scriptures talk about the sinners, as opposed to the righteous, it is referring to those who make sin their practice vs those for whom righteousness is their practice. So not everyone on this planet is a sinner, i.e. one who practices sin, yet this does not mean that the righteous will never sin, but sin is not their practice. Were we all born sinners? Yes! But by faith in Jesus we are to die to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands, by his grace, in his power and wisdom.
For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, but the face of the Lord is against those who are doing (practicing) what is evil in his sight. So, if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, holiness, and obedience to our Lord, then we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus Christ we might profess with our lips. For Jesus said it is not those who call him Lord, but it is those who do his will who will inherit eternal life with God. And all who refuse will be cast out into utter darkness. Believe this!
Gospel:[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907
Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
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Humble in Spirit
An Original Work / September 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love