Living Under Stress
1 Peter 2:18-25
Is stress always bad? Not at all. In fact, there’s stress in activities we enjoy as well as those we don’t like. Having a difficult job situation causes stress, but so does having a job we love. Likewise, being treated unfairly is stressful as well as going on a dream vacation. The key is knowing how to cope with our stressful situations, whether they are good or bad. To cope, we must develop appropriate strategies for each of them. Otherwise, we will experience burnout and make coping that much more difficult.
With that in mind, Peter begins in 1 Peter 2:18 to explain how his first century audience of believers was to cope with the stresses of life in their world. Slaves, he says, were to be obedient to their masters, regardless of how they were treated. The labor force in the Roman world consisted primarily of slaves, and some masters treated slaves as members of the family while others abused them. Slaves had virtually no rights and were considered property rather than persons.
Regardless of how they were treated, Peter’s instruction is to be submissive, or line up under the rule of their masters, with all respect. This brings favor with God, who is our true master (2:20; Colossians 3:22-24). In the workplace today, believers should be humble and submissive to their superiors even when treated unfairly, with the understanding that God is watching and will reward their faithful behavior. This proves that their real hope is in the world to come.
Enduring the stress of injustice and wrongful suffering is what Christians have been called to, and is the example given to us by Jesus, as Peter explains in 2:21-23. For Jesus, the path to glory was through suffering, and His suffering was for us. Jesus never committed a sin and yet was executed on the cross.
Should His followers expect not to suffer? His example demonstrates that believers can be faithful to God and still experience unjust suffering. Rather than trying to take matters into our own hands, we are called to trust our destiny with God, who judges justly (2:23). When we trust God with our future, our present situation becomes less stressful.
Rather than being burdened by negative stress, we should embrace the positive stress of following Jesus’ example. Jesus bore our sins and endured the penalty for our sins on the cross (2:24). He did this that we might live righteous lives, for we are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). Considering what He suffered for us, we should take seriously the call to live righteous lives in a stressful world, living exemplary lives that direct others to God.
Sands– Lessons in the ETB series for the fall quarter are being written by Alex Sands, pastor of Kingdom Life Christian Center, Greenville.