1 Peter 4
Bible Passage: 1 Peter 4
Serving and suffering are integral parts of a Christian life. In serving, we put aside our willful hearts, and attend to the needs of others out of pure love (1 Pet 1:22) for them. In suffering, we experience struggles within and without because we want to remain faithful to our Maker. What are your concepts of serving and suffering?
Serving
To be able to serve others is a blessing. It means you have the maturity to look out for the needs of others besides your own needs. It probably also means God has given you a gift (1 Cor 4:7) which you have that others do not, and you use it to edify those around you. However, you will need to dispense this service to others with humility and without expecting praise or gain. Who likes a rude and greedy servant? If we focus on those we serve instead of ourselves, attending faithfully to the work in order to do it well, we glorify God in our service to Him and our fellow brethren.
Paul’s spirit of humility in his servitude and battle for God is refreshing:
“For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.”
~ 1 Corinthians 4:4
Paul first searched himself and made sure he had the right heart and principles in the way he carried his own life. And he knew that he would ultimately been accountable to God in his servitude.
In this chapter, Elder Peter teaches us to attribute to God the glory we may gain while serving. He tells us that serving means:
- Having fervent love for one another; looking out for the well-being our fellow brethren, instead of blatantly exposing their sins for our own selfish interests (v8)
- Receiving others joyfully and being charitable to one another without grumbling (v9)
- Realizing that our talents are God’s grace for us and using them not to show how brilliant we are, but to attend to the needs of others (v10)
- Doing our very best with the ability which God supplies (v11)
Suffering
The early Christians suffered physical abuse in their attempt to spread God’s teachings and message of salvation to those around them. Today, we put up with one or two inconveniences, maybe get a couple of strange or impatient looks when we broach on the topic of Jesus and salvation, or bear the brunt of a verbal volley of not so nice words thrown at us.
We count our ‘sufferings’ as ‘suffering for God’ if we are at the receiving end of people who may abuse us as advocates of Christianity or ambassadors of Jesus Christ (v14, 16). However, we are not suffering for God if we are suffering as a result of the consequences of our unedifying actions, this chapter gives a number of examples – murder, covet, being a busybody!
A murderer gets a sentence and suffers in jail. A thief steals from others and is punished for his/her selfishness. If he manages to steal without others finding out, he punishes himself by having to live with the guilt and unease. What kind of suffering does a busybody go through? He/she lives with a cumbersome baggage of an assortment of informative titbits from here, there and everywhere, about him, her, and everyone.
Did you notice that the Bible speaks of a murderer, thief, evildoer and busybody in the same verse? This seems to imply that each of their sins are equally severe!
Let us examine ourselves. If our concern for our fellow brethren is genuine, we will be speaking directly with the brother or sister whom we want to extend our help towards. We will not be asking around and fishing for information about our brethren from other brethren.
Elder Peter sums up his chapter nicely with this verse:
“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
~1 Pet 4:19
If sufferings are what Christians must go through, we suffer in doing good, according to the will of God.
