WIN AT ALL COST!

We often hear about how professional athletes who have sacrificed so much to reach their goal of winning a championship.  They submit themselves to all kinds of pain and suffering from constant training and workouts.  They leave their wives and families for long periods of time to train or compete to get to their goal.   They often weep when they reach their goal and hold their medal or trophy above their head because they now know it was all worth it.  THEY WON!


My wife and I were doing a Bible study together on 1 Peter. 2&3  when it became obvious Peter felt our goal in life should be .... WINNING!   But not winning in a selfish or personal sense like winning an intellectual or physical battle. Instead his goal was to win as many for Christ as possible.... no matter what!


Peter wrote these letters around the time he was already in prison under Nero.  Yet here in this letter he tells the church to "honor the Emperor".  What?  The man who is about to have you crucified upside-down?  Honor him? Yes.   Why?  So some of them might be saved.  He didn't want their attitude towards the Emperor or the Roman Empire to get in the way with that effort. 


Later Peter advices slaves to show respect even to their masters but "not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh".   Many anti-Christians, use this verse as ammunition for their hatred saying "See?  Your bible is pro-slavery!" when in fact looking at the whole section you see Peter's purpose.  Again it is to WIN as many for Christ as possible.  Our sufferings can be used by God to reach those inflicting the suffering! This reminds me of a book I read years ago called "Tortured For Christ!" in which the writer talks about being in a Russian prison and seeing a fellow Christian taken out by the guards and severely beaten for talking to another prisoner for sharing his faith.  When the man was brought back in, he pulled him self up from the floor and said "Now where did we leave off at..".   The prisoner was amazed and said, "How can you do that?".  His answer was, "We have an agreement with the guards, they beat and we bless".  Later in the book, the writer saw that one of the new prisoners was previously one of the most harshest guards.  He had been converted by what he had seen.


Finally Peter gives a similar piece of advice to wives who are married to non-believers, saying that they should honor their husbands and show respect.  Why?  So that "they may be WON over without words by the behavior of their wives".   I remember a person in the church I grew up in who was married to a truck driver.  She was the nicest and sweetest woman you ever met.   Her husband was often harsh, never went to church, drank a lot and used foul language.   But she stuck with him through it all and prayed for him.  Later I found out that he had changed his ways, was attending church and even teaching Sunday school.


Peter's letter can be summed up with this:  WIN FOR CHRIST AT ALL COST!