8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, sympathetic, lovers of your fellow believers, compassionate, and modest in your opinion of yourselves. 9 Don’t pay back evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, give blessing in return. You were called to do this so that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For
those who want to love life
and see good days
should keep their tongue from evil speaking
and their lips from speaking lies.
11 They should shun evil and do good;
seek peace and chase after it.
12 The Lord’s eyes are on the righteous
and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord cannot tolerate those who do evil.
Reflection
Ah, the confidence of youth!
Tell me if any of this sounds familiar: when I was younger, I was absolutely convinced that all my opinions were correct in all their particulars. I was sure that I knew best. I would debate my clergy friends for hours about theology and church administration and ministry. We’d talk until late into the night, until we were exhausted from making our arguments.
This week, as I’ve sat in sessions of General Conference, or spent time with seminarians, I find myself embarrassed to reflect on my former hubris. I try to speak less and listen more. Now in my middle years, I feel increasing doubt that any one of us has the answers to anything (though many will make the case to the contrary!) I value collaboration more and believe that together we can formulate better plans for doing God’s work – certainly better than anything I can develop on my own.
The writer of 1 Peter correctly makes a connection between having “modest opinions” of ourselves and charitable words towards others. When we rightly understand that we don’t have all the answers, we become less defensive, less argumentative, and more curious. We don’t feel the need to tear down but instead can delight in building up. May it be so in our spirits today!
Joe Monahan
For Pondering & Prayer
How do you balance the need between maintaining a humble opinion of yourself and standing firm in your convictions about right and wrong? How do you balance making your voice heard and lifting up the voices of others? In order to be the Body of Christ, we need to work together. Today, if you tend to talk more, make it a point to speak less. And if you tend to speak less, maybe make it a point to make yourself heard.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, lead us and guide us to value our own voices as well as the voices around us. Where we have been guilty of having too high an opinion of our own opinions, set us straight so that we might make space for others. Amen.
