Day 34 · Week 5
Passage: 1 Peter 3:8–16
Memory Verse: Matthew 5:5
1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
It is possible to defend the truth in a way that does not look very much like Jesus.
Peter tells Christians to be ready to explain the reason for their hope. We should know what we believe and be willing to speak about it.
But notice how he says to do it: “with meekness and fear.”
Truth does not need our arrogance.
When people disagree with us, especially about something important, it is easy to begin treating the conversation as a battle to win. We may become sarcastic, dismissive, or angry. We may listen only long enough to plan our next response.
Meekness allows us to hold conviction and kindness together.
Jesus never suggested that truth was unimportant. He spoke truth clearly, even when it was unpopular. Yet He also cared about the people to whom He spoke.
This matters in conversations about faith, but also in ordinary family disagreements. We can be right about a fact and wrong in the spirit with which we present it.
A disciple should want more than to win the argument. We should want our words and manner to represent the character of the One whose truth we are defending.
Can someone say something completely true in a way that is still unkind or un-Christlike? Give an example.
During your next disagreement, make an effort to understand what the other person is saying before you answer.
Ask God to give your family courage to stand for truth and meekness in the way you speak about it.