Don't be afraid

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. – 1 Peter 3.13-17

We live in what could easily be considered very, very scary days. There are growing threat to Christians and our way of life. Those fears may not be on our doorstep yet, but that doesn’t lessen the reality. 

In fact, it seems like most of the world lives in fear. We are all in the same boat. These fearsome times are the chance for us to shine. 

Lets see why. At first we see the question ‘who is going to harm you for doing good?’ So, for the most part, doing good is going to avoid trouble, That is the way most of us live today. 

But that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes Christians are going to suffer for the cause of Christ. Sometimes doing right is not going to help, and that is a scary thought. But Peter says ‘don’t be afraid of their threats, suffering is a blessing.’ Instead of being afraid, when we come under threat, we ought to ‘sanctify God in our hearts.’ Instead of focusing on our fear we should focus on Christ and living for Him. 

What happens when the whole world is afraid but us is that we have a chance to make a difference. Then it is incumbent on us to be prepared to give an answer about why we have hope when no one else does. 

If we can manage that we are going to make anyone who is critical of us look foolish. Our critics have no ammo. 

It is indeed better to to do and suffer than to do wrong and get away with it. That preaches easy, but I’d say it is going to live hard.