A Call to Good Works
Open Your Bible
1 Peter 2:11-25, Romans 13:1-7, Galatians 5:13-14
BY Claire Gibson
Injustice of any kind is hard to bear. When I’m on the receiving end of hate, my natural inclination is to defend myself. To fight back. I have little strength to shoulder the weight of false accusations, unfair treatment, or slights on my character. And yet, that’s exactly what the passage in 1 Peter 2 is asking me to do: put down my rights and “submit to every human institution” (v.13).
Before we continue, it’s important to address the part of this passage that tells slaves to submit to their masters. The Greek word used here refers to household or domestic servants who would’ve also been slaves. Slavery in the first century was different than the American version of race-based slavery of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Peter is not advocating for slavery as a system. He is instead dealing with it as a reality that some of the recipients of his letter lived under. For our purposes, it’s best to read this passage with the phrase “lowly workers” in mind. Peter was instructing Christians to endure their pain with grace.
Peter would know. On more than one occasion, an oppressive government imprisoned him for his beliefs and preaching. He would eventually be crucified. In that place of oppression, he continued preaching the gospel, trusting that God would use every ounce of his suffering for the good of the world. He submitted to the path that God had paved for him, even though that path included hardship.
If you cringe at the word “submission,” you’re in good company. Submission is extremely counter-cultural in our “YOLO” society. An acronym short for you only live once, YOLO is a rallying cry that places happiness as the ultimate aim of life. If we only have this one life to live, we might as well make it a great, fun, exciting one, right? I have to admit, it’s a pretty attractive philosophy. But it stands at complete odds with Christianity.
We also live in a society that rails against injustice with ever-increasing outrage. Police brutality, racial bias in our judicial system, gender wage gaps, sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace—these are serious problems, constantly dominating my news feeds. But the problem with focusing all of my attention and outrage on the world’s ills is that I can so easily lose sight of my own sin. I begin to want change out there far more than I desire change in my own heart.
Rather than focus his eyes on the injustice leveraged against him, Peter chose to focus on the injustices he’d perpetrated against God, forgiven by Jesus’s blood. He knew the truth: Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection replaces our temporary perspective with an eternal one.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree;
so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).
As a Christ-follower, you’re not only going to live once—you’re going to live forever. Discomfort, pain, and injustice are real, but they are fleeting when compared to the glory and love of our Savior. I’d rather serve Jesus than my own happiness. And I can trust Jesus to use the injustices I see around me for the good of His kingdom.
How do I know this? Because He suffered a sham trial, a wrongful conviction, and bloody death—on my behalf. And thank God He did. Jesus transformed the ultimate injustice into the world’s greatest good.
50 thoughts on "A Call to Good Works"
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Wow. Today really ate my lunch. I’m a huge advocate against social injustice. And I believe there’s a place for that. But today’s reading really reminded me that I need to be in alignment before I started trying to bring the rest of the world in alignment. Dang.
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This has been one of the realest devotions I’ve ever read! I’m so thankful for Christian leaders who will use their skill and resources to preach TRUTH. Thank you God, for promising us an eternal life of unceasing happiness and for promising to be by our side as we persevere through this Earthly anguish.
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Katelyn Kenney, thank you for being thoughtful of this. I am a brown skinned woman. So, when I see someone who is of lighter skin mention the possibility of how other communities may not fully appreciate a message like this, it is an amazing thing ❤️
I am glad the writer mentioned slavery and mentioned race. These topics can easily become more in depth. So, it’s possible she just wasn’t able to tackle it too much in this brief writing.
I am struggling a little lately with the church’s silence on racial oppression. It stings me when I read articles and hear sermons that do not mention that there are still people in today’s society that are oppressed by authorities. I am educated and have a great career. And I am still very much aware of the racial injustices going on in society.
Do not be silent when seeing someone speak hate against someone of a different ethnic background. We are to love our neighbors. This was a direct command from Jesus Christ. We are not to sit and just be ok with injustices. Silence = complacency. You can speak up for someone while showing the love of Christ. Racism is a sin. It’s sad that this topic is not discussed.-
Jamila, I’m wondering whether this is also a personal sin we need to address. How often do I use ‘white privilege’ to not see the oppression that my brothers and sisters still face? That is just as much colluding with the oppression. I can focus on the sins of other people without fighting my own prejudice.
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Absolutely, Alice. We all must acknowledge and work on our own prejudices. Admitting that someone looks different is perfectly ok. People deceive themselves when they say, “I don’t see color.” This statement is both insulting and inaccurate. It’s insulting because this statement comes across as: “I don’t acknowledge the oppression your people have endured. I choose to ignore it. So, I will not ask about your feelings as a brown skinned woman and what you have gone through.” Of course everyone sees color. A person’s (all people) ethnic makeup is beautiful. It should be acknowledged and respected.
We must work on ourselves, see our own sin, and stand up for what is right.
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Jamila, I totally agree. I long for the day we will all worship in perfect community in the new kingdom. Until then, silence in the face of hateful speech is not loving our brothers and sisters as ourselves. I pray the church grows in compassion and loving the communities around us who are facing oppression.
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Submitting to oppressive authorities isn’t sitting well with me today. As someone who has lived with privileges I’m both aware and unaware of, I wonder how other communities have read these passages. Did MLK, Jr. submit to human institutions? Reminding myself to focus on God’s authority first and foremost…
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Just don’t sweat the small stuff, greater is coming.
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“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). We are free, but not free to sin! Free to obey. Free to love. Free to serve. Not in bondage to sin and self. Free to sacrifice ourselves in the service of God and others!
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These verse convicted me so much!! We have to be followers of Christ but when we are treated badly or unfairly was are ready to fight and get justice. But that is not what Jesus did not commit sin. No deceit was found in his mouth, when insulted He did. Or insult in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. – 1 Peter 2:22 –
I do those things almost every day if I am being honest. Reading this just changed my whole perspective and how I act towards others
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Man what a great reading with lots to think about. It’s a great reminder that though the Bible is intended for us and is applicable to our current lives it’s so important to look at context/genre/culture to really dig in deep. So good!
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