Malcolm Gladwell wrote a fascinating book in 2008 called Outliers in which he tells stories of people who stand out in history. One of the stories is about Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Gladwell describes Gates as a brilliant young math whiz who was easily bored by school.
In 1968, as an 8th grader, he discovered a passion for computer programming when the Mothers Club donated a computer terminal to his school. Most colleges didn’t even have computers because they were such a new and expensive invention.
Gates was immediately hooked and couldn’t help but spend hours in an obscure computer lab in Seattle learning how to operate this strange new machine. He spent every free moment programming on the computer. Gates says, “It was my obsession. I skipped athletics. I went up there at night. We were programming on weekends. It would be a rare week that we wouldn’t get twenty or thirty hours in.”[1] He was only 15 or 16 years old at the time!
Bill Gates was not your typical teenager. He was completely unlike all the kids around him. Even the smart kids. In fact, he dropped out of Harvard so he would have more time to program computers. Bill was an outlier. He stood above and beyond the other kids his age.
In a similar way, God’s people are outliers. He has called us out of the world and set us apart from everyone else. The word for this in the Bible is “holy,” and the Apostle Peter writes about living a holy life:
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:8-12)
Although Peter does not use the word “holy” in this passage, he is describing a holy life. Peter is teaching us how to live differently.
All throughout 1 Peter, we see descriptions of God’s people that set them apart from the world, words like Chosen, a Spiritual house, Exiles, Christian, and so many more. We are a unique and privileged group of people! God Himself chose us for this privilege, but with privilege comes responsibility. First Peter 1:16 affirms that responsibility: “Be holy because I am holy.”
The Greek word for holy is “hagios.” This describes something sacred and special. This is something set apart from everything around it for special use, like a wedding dress, your 1968 Corvette Stingray, or that special pearl necklace that once belonged to your grandmother. These things are sacred and special.
Holy can be an intimidating word. I grew up in a church denomination that emphasized holiness. This is good—God tells us to be holy! But I interpreted this as outward perfection. If I said a bad word or watched an R-rated movie, I must not be holy and thought I was in big trouble with God. I believed my behavior and appearance had to be perfect to please God.
Holiness is not human perfection! Yes, our behavior and appearance WILL be different because of our relationship with Christ. Overall, our words will be life-giving and true. We will be more discerning about the movies, books, and music we consume. All of this is because the Holy Spirit is conforming us to the likeness of Christ. This is our sanctification. But holiness is not about our performance and perfection. It is about the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts in cooperation with our wills.
We learn in 1 Peter that we are called to be holy, or different.
Remember, Peter is writing to Christians who are suffering because of their faith in Christ. He does not excuse worldly behavior because they’re going through a hard time. In fact, because of their affiliation with Christ, Peter calls them to a higher standard of behavior.
1 Peter 3:8-12 gives us some instructions in how to live this holy life. In verse 8 we see the first evidence of our calling to be different: Holy people love God’s people.
The New Living Bible translates verse 8 this way: “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
First—loving God’s people includes being of one mind. This does not imply we all think the same, but that we cooperate with each other because we are working for the same purposes and the same Master. We are not in competition with each other.
I began playing piano when I was six years old. My parents, being the very good parents that they were, made me practice Every. Single. Day. I had to play each of my songs three times. Many nights I would sit at the piano and cry for 30 minutes over something that I could have completed in less than ten.
But, every single day, I practiced piano. And I kept it up year after year. By the time I was in junior high, I was actually a pretty good pianist! My teacher would enter me in local piano competitions, and I usually did really well, bringing home lots of blue ribbons.
These competitions really motivated me, so I kept practicing day after day. By the time I was in high school, I was voluntarily practicing without being reminded, even on the weekends! I usually spent one, two, or even three hours at the piano trying to get every measure and note just perfect. I would play a phrase of music again and again, dozens of times in a row, working on my technique and artistry.
By now I was really good! My junior year of high school, I won 1st place in a prestigious local competition, beating out my biggest rival, Lucy Yang. Lucy and I went to school together and it was a friendly rivalry, but believe me, we were both aiming to be #1!
Playing piano like this in junior high and high school produced a healthy sense of competition in me. I had to be diligent in my practice if I was going to be good on stage. However, as an adult, I have had to learn not to carry that sense of competition into the body of Christ.
We are not in competition with each other, friendly or otherwise. We are in cooperation with each other. We are here to build God’s kingdom and that requires working together and being of one mind.
A second way Peter teaches how holy people love God’s people is that we sympathize with God’s people. This goes along with working together.
We all struggle with sin. Although we are no longer slaves to sin because we now belong to Christ, our flesh still battles temptation. Be sympathetic with each other. First Peter 4:8 even says that love covers a multitude of sin. If you know of a brother or sister in Christ who has sinned, don’t expose them! Rather, keep it quiet, pray for them, show them sympathy, encourage them in their life of holiness.
Now, love and sympathy do not mean we excuse sin. If God opens the door for you to lovingly talk to that person about a sin habit you see in his or her life, then walk through it. But no matter what, sympathy involves genuine prayer for each other. This life is hard. Show love and sympathy for each other.
And a third way holy people love God’s people is to be humble. Humility goes hand-in-hand with love.
Jesus Himself is our model for humility. Philippians 2:5-8 describes Jesus’s humility:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Jesus IS God, but He did not use this for His own benefit in order to escape the agony of the cross. He humbly became our servant.
When I was in college, I worked in the main office for the local Domino’s Pizza franchise. The owner of our franchise was a wealthy Christian man. He worked hard for many years to build a successful business, and now he was on top with hundreds of employees.
He could have simply relaxed and enjoyed the hard-earned benefits of owning a prosperous business, but he usually spent his Friday nights helping out at one of his stores—folding boxes, saucing pizzas, even answering phones. He did not use his position to his own advantage, but instead became like one of his hourly employees and humbled himself to do the hard work in the stores. My boss showed love to his people.
My second point—Peter makes the point that holy people bless evil people. Look at verse 9, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5 quotes Jesus saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”
This is crazy! Not only do we not retaliate against someone who has hurt us, but Jesus expects us to bless them. It takes a lot of godly self-control and strength of character to do this. Repaying evil with good does not come naturally. But don’t you think if you do this, the one who hurts you will notice?
As much as we would like that person to suffer and pay for their wrong, Jesus desires that person to know Him as Savior. Revenge on my part might feel good for a few minutes, but God is concerned with eternity.
When we bless an evil person, we are living as people with eternity in our hearts. We are living as people with a Living Hope who understand that we can put up with bad treatment here on earth because we have an amazing eternity waiting for us. We are also opening the door for God to bring that evil person into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
Voice of the Martyrs radio tells the story of a woman called “Sister Amber” who served as a Christian missionary in Tibet for 16 years. On January 5, 2013, Sister Amber was arrested by local police. These vicious men abused and tortured her in unimaginable ways. After just three days, she begged the Lord to let her die because the pain and humiliation were far beyond what she could bear.
In response, she felt God telling her that it wasn’t her they were persecuting but God Himself. And He asked her if she would be willing to allow Him to use her body to bring these violent men to Christ. Would she allow God to show His love for these violent men through her?
Incredibly, she submitted to God’s plan and began to tell her abusers God loved them every time they beat her. With every beating, Amber spoke God’s love. And as the men became more frustrated, they became more violent. And so she prayed God would forgive them for they did not know what they were doing. God had revealed to Sister Amber that she was the way He would reach these men with His message of hope and salvation.
Sister Amber was released from prison after a few weeks. Although none of the officers surrendered to Christ during her time there, she is certain God has plans for them and continues to pray, trusting God used her to show them His love.
Solomon says in Proverbs 25:21-22, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.”
Showing kindness to my enemy is like heaping burning coals on their head. In Solomon’s time, if a person’s fire went out, they would need to borrow some live coals to restart their fire. Giving a person coals in a pan to carry home “on their head” was a neighborly, kind act; it made friends, not enemies. Jesus delights when His people show compassion rather than taking revenge.
Do you have someone in your life that you consider an enemy? Someone who has intentionally made your life difficult. What is a practical way you could bless them? It might feel awkward at first. Maybe sending a text just to let them know you prayed for them this morning. Or maybe some words of encouragement about something good you see in them.
I do want to add one exception here. When I say God calls us to bless evil people, I am not speaking of an abusive relationship. If you are in an abusive relationship—marriage, boyfriend, parent, or otherwise, please do not hear this as tolerating abuse is God’s will for you. I strongly encourage you to reach out to someone you trust for help and guidance.
My last point—Peter tells us holy people are good and peaceful people. Look at 1 Peter 3:11-12, “They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer…”
The Greek word for peace in this verse translates to the same word as the Hebrew word for peace—shalom. Shalom means safe, well, happy, and whole. This is not an absence of conflict. It’s something much deeper and not dependent on circumstances. Shalom is what Adam and Eve had in the garden before they sinned.
Neal Plantinga describes shalom like this: “In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.”[2]
Shalom is the way things ought to be. And as believers, we know that things are not the way they ought to be, right? God’s ultimate plan for His creation is to restore shalom. In the new heavens and new earth, all things will be as they should be. We will experience shalom.
But Plantinga says we have experienced a vandalism of shalom. This state of our world in which everything ought to be under the rightful reign of God has been vandalized by sin, death and Satan.
So, until God restores shalom in the new heavens and new earth, Peter tells us to pursue shalom now. How do we do that in a world so broken by sin?
If shalom means safe, well, happy, and whole, then we should pursue what makes for a safe, well, happy and whole society.
Now, we cannot find shalom in what the world has to offer. That new truck might make you happy every time you drive it, but it won’t restore shalom. The latest home security system might give you the feeling of safety, but it won’t restore shalom. We must turn to God’s Word.
One definition of sin is “the outlook oriented toward the self.” In other words, self-centeredness. God tells us many times in Scripture to love and serve others. Jesus even tells us in Luke 14:27 to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. To pursue peace, we must serve God by serving others. We must seek the flourishing and wholeness of others. Help those who are the most vulnerable in society.
Have we sheltered ourselves from the broken and needy people of the world? If so, we need to get out of that shelter! God has called us to feed the hungry and give the thirsty something to drink. In fact, when we do that, we are actually serving Jesus Himself.
Of course, we are not going to single-handedly solve the world’s problems. In fact, our world will continue in its broken and sinful state until Jesus returns. But when we serve others because of our love for Christ, we are pursuing peace. We are seeking to restore a little bit of the shalom that has been lost.
Friends, if you are a follower of Christ, then God has made you holy by choosing you. He expects you to live like the holy man or woman He chose you to be. You have a living hope, so you can boldly live a holy life! As holy people, love God’s people, bless evil people, and be good and peaceful people.
We are called to be different!
[1] Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success (NY, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2008), 52.
[2] Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 10.