1 Peter 2:1
The “put a way’s” of life! Can you remember your mother saying it is time to put away
those toys, or you need to put away your clothes? And as you got older it was, would you please put away the
tools after you used them. Then you
got married and it often is a friendly reminder that most items have a place
and it would be nice to put them away when you are finished using them. Yes, putting away is required to have a
life of order, so why should we be surprised that Peter is telling us that we
have things in our lives; habits and learned behaviors that need to be put
away?
“So put away all malice and all
deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” Who
is Peter’s audience? That is always a good question when reading the Bible, and
it came as no shock, he is addressing this to Christians. I’m not sure how often we discussed
this in our adult Bible study class, maybe it was on the days I missed,
however, I have no memory of myself or others sharing that they have anything
like the above, to put away. Could
it be we have no understanding of what these words mean? Or could it be that we have become so
sophisticated and so spiritual that the Holy Spirit only meant this for the
elect scattered throughout Asia Minor?
The only problem with it not being written for us is, that
is totally wrong, and if you have looked around of late, not at other Christians,
but in your mirror, you understand that; you and I have difficulty in following
the requirements set out in the Manufacturers Handbook. So once more, I need to understand the
meaning of these words, for surely if we understood the meaning of the words,
we will put them away. Malice: the
desire to cause harm to others, or to see somebody in pain. Surely no one sitting in an adult Bible study would
want to cause harm to anyone? And
then Peter does not just say deceit, no he precede it with the word all. Deceit: the act or practice
of deceiving or misleading somebody.
Other words that may help you with
this one are; dishonesty and deception, but once more I must confess to never
hearing anyone who was in my adult Bible study own up to needing to take off,
or put away deceit, not even this writer.
Is this good, are you enjoying this as much as I am? The next word Peter used was hypocrisy,
and it is defined in this way, Hypocrisy: the false claim to or
pretense of having admirable principles, beliefs or feelings. We
need more help with this one, shall we add a few other words that will help,
words like insincerity, double standards, pretense, and two-faced. I believe I can say with full assurance,
this subject has not been part of anyone’s confession in our adult Bible
studies. Nor has envy been
confessed: the resentful or unhappy feeling of wanting somebody
else’s success, good fortune, qualities, or possessions. I’m sure
we do not need other words like jealousy, greed, and resentment to help us with
this definition. And the last word
is slander: a false and malicious statement that damages somebody’s
reputation.
You and I, more than likely, understood the meaning of those
words Peter was telling us to “Put away” without the help of the definitions,
so why do we act as if none of them apply to us? It’s a one-word answer, it’s called pride, and it keeps us
from being light in this present darkness.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment