To Encourage You

1 Peter 3:10-12 “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

We’ve all heard of the three Rs: reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic.  They’re the three most basic educational skills that must be taught in schools if those schools are to be of any real benefit to anyone.  They are fundamentals.  Everything else starts right there.  For some reason that’s where my mind went when I read the passage above from 1 Peter 3.  But here the thought is that perhaps we could view the things God is telling us through Peter as the 3 Rs of life, for he’s telling us that if we want to love life and see good days (and who doesn’t want that?) then there are three basic and fundamental things we need to do. 

The first R would be “refrain,” i.e., we must watch what we say.  We should “keep (our) tongue from evil and (our) lips from speaking deceit.” We should never lie – for it will all catch up with us in the end.  James warns us about this in the following words: “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:5-8).  It’s such a universal problem, this temptation to say too much. Elsewhere the Scriptures warn us that “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19).  And so, the psalmist prayed (as should we), “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3).    It’s all so fundamental.  

The next R: repent, i.e., we should “turn away from evil and do good.” The fact is that we both have in the past and will again in the future sin with our lips. We sin in other ways too.  It’s the human condition, for “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  And as the apostle John has told us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).  So, when we do sin, should we just shrink away in self-pity and regret? Should we walk around with a defeatist attitude, thinking we’ll never change, so what’s the use?  The answer is “no.” The remedy God has given us is to repent.  He’s a God of mercy Who wonderfully forgives sin. As John tells us in the very next verse: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  So, we see the path to that forgiveness is to confess the truth about our sin, ask God to forgive us for it, and turn around (repent) by walking away from that sin and committing to following hard after Him.  

And the last R? Remember, i.e., remember the wonderful truth that “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” You see, our God is the God Who sees (Genesis 16:13).  He sees the ones whose desire it is to follow and obey Him, and His ears are open to their prayers, e.g., prayers for help with our tongues (the first R), and prayers of repentance when we fail (the second R).  It’s a mindset directed towards the God Who sees us and Who blesses those who seek Him with all their heart.  

On the other hand, for those who would forget these fundamentals, for those with rash tongues who love their sin and have no regard for God, God is telling us all in 1 Peter 3 that His face is against them, and that’s never a good situation to be in.