Submit for the Lord's sake

"Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution." Peter writes this to people with no power, under an emperor who did not love them. He grounds it in one reason: "For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men." Their goodness, not their protest, would answer the people who spoke against them.

In the session, Jeff put it plainly: "the word from the Lord is as refugees submit, this is not stand up and fight. This is not argue. This is not draw a line in the sand and say, who will come with me?" Peter's readers were refugees, and he gave them a different way to answer.

That runs against how most of us use the internet. When someone gets it wrong, our instinct is to correct them, loudly and quickly. Peter offers another way. Do good, keep doing good, and let that answer the ignorance. It is slower, and it rarely wins the thread. But it honors the Lord, and it is his will, which is the reason Peter gives.

Today, think of one place online where you are tempted to fight: a comment section, a group chat, a feed that stirs you up. Instead of arguing there, do one quiet good thing. Encourage someone, thank someone, or pray for the person you disagree with. Let your good deeds do the talking, for the Lord's sake.