February 2025

By Rev. Lisa Abb

If you weren’t in worship on January 26^th, I took a moment out of our regular routine to talk a bit about 1 Peter 2:17. The reason I did so was that a Christian friend posted a very un-Christian thing on Facebook. I felt unequipped to respond. I didn’t know what to say that would make any difference without causing conflict. 

What my friend had done was post personal information of someone she didn’t agree with in the church so that people could call and write and attack this person in droves. When I didn’t know what to say to her, I went about my day and began studying text for my message on Sunday.

I was directed to 1 Peter 2 because it talks about how we are foreigners living in exile here on earth until we get to heaven. And as such, Peter gave a great deal of instruction for people to exist in this kind of environment. That is part of the teaching we are learning.

The verse that caught my attention and really grabbed my heart was 1 Peter 2:17 that says, “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” What Peter means is that our job is to be respectful of one another even when we disagree. That shows that we have character!

Second, we are to love the family of believers. God knows that believers are going to be attacked from those who do not understand or accept faith. So, we have to be supportive and loving of other Christians. We must watch out for each other.  

Next, we are to fear God, which means to revere God. We revere God over everyone and everything in this world. God is #1.  

Lastly, we honor the emperor. In our context, that is the President. To honor him just means to treat him with fairness, but not blind devotion. We still revere God over the President.

I returned to my friend’s Facebook page and shared this teaching, and the short version is she took the post down. I offer it to you today if you struggle with what to say when confronted with Christians hurting other Christians, especially in a public forum. 

Growing the Kingdom of God means living according to the scriptures and teachings of Jesus Christ. Filter everything you do through that lens. Remember what Peter teaches us: Show respect to each other. Love other believers. Fear God. Honor the President.