1 Peter 3:8-12

8 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. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 10 For the Scriptures say,

“If you want to enjoy life
    and see many happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
11 Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
    and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
    against those who do evil.

3.         Submit to seeking and speaking peace – Vs 9-12

God’s plan for prosperity involves pursuing peace with people both in our walk as well as our talk. Which requires us to:

1.         Submit our Sensibilities

But most of us are more ruled by our feelings than we are the Father. We make the focus how we feel instead of what the Father wants. We are called to not only pursue peace but to work at maintain it. Maintaining peace is not easy, it doesn’t just happen it requires that we expend energy, it’s like a fish maintaining its place in a fast flowing steam, without expending energy and swimming it will be swept away. Following the father requires that we go against the flow if we don’t we will be carried away by the current of conflict and into the chaos.  We have to work at His Will and be careful not to make it about our wounds.  So how do you handle it when people are rude and hurtful, first we need to learn to rein in our response and evaluate our emotions. We need to ask ourselves whether we are going to respond like our heavenly Father or out of our hurtful flesh. God is not calling you to sit idle when people insult you he is calling you to action just not to anger. Instead of doing battle we are called to bless. When we are hurt we don’t have to hit back, instead of being a bruiser be a blessing. But instead of doing good many of us make the goal getting even. Instead of choosing peace we pursue a payback. Let me ask you this when it comes to the hurts of your life have you surrender your scars or are you still pick at the scabs? Many of us are more controlled by our wounds than we are the Word.  What about you are you going to be a brat or a blessing? Let me ask you this: Are you going to bless your children or break them? How you deal with the heart hurts and the disappointments of life will determine whether you pursue peace or pain. How you respond to the disagreements will either disarm or drive a wedge. Are you going to emotionally explode and exasperate the situation or surrender your feelings and free yourself to follow the Father? Are you going to line people up in the cross hairs of your gun or the cross of God’s grace? When you see people through the lens of self you often want to shoot them, but when you see them through the cross you will see them as special and significant. 

1 Peter 3:8-12

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters.[a] Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 10 For the Scriptures say,

“If you want to enjoy life
    and see many happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
11 Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
    and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
    against those who do evil.

The secret to success starts with submitting to God’s plan and seeking His definition of success. Which means that we have to first:

1.         Submit to Solidarity – Vs 8  “all of you should be of one mind”

We are called to cultivate coming together and complimenting one another not competing with one another.  We are called to cultivate a heart of harmony so how do we do that? First we have to look at the 2 different systems of solidarity, the World’s and the Word’s.  According to the world the starting point for solidarity is the idea that we are all equal and we all have value which is a true and wonderful statement and one that the Word of God agrees with. The problem is the world’s basis for equality and worth, it’s bases it on self where the Word shows us our sin. Why does this matter and what is the difference. Well the World says that you are special because of self, The Word says that you are special because of the Savior. He showed how loved we are in that He came to die for us. Sin reminds us that we find our common ground at the foot of the cross. But when we seek equality based on self it leads to striving which leads to strife. So let me ask you are you basing your worth on your performance or Christs payment on the cross of Calvary. When we see ourselves as sinners saved by grace we stop seeing ourselves as superior to others. When we view ourselves through the lens of salvation we see God’s grace not our greatness. We realize that it’s not about our work but His, so we stop striving to impress, we stop wasting our energy clamoring and competing and come together to compliment. The gift of grace cultivates coming alongside and kills competing. The question is am I going to choose to walk with and work with others or war with them?  Many of us have a my way or the highway mentality instead of the Masters way. Instead of the highway there is a holy way, God is inviting you to join and journey with Him down the holy way. God’s way cultivates a heart of harmony, the Worlds way creates a Hard heart. Are you agreeable or argumentative? Now unity or one mind does not mean uniformity, it means cooperation in the midst of diversity. God has given His people a variety of gifts, talents, backgrounds, personalities, and preferences and differences of opinion will exist. But even though opinions are different they should not divide but rather enrich the church, for Christians are called to be govern by God’s goals. That means we are going to have to get over ourselves, which for some of you may be a monumental challenge because you’re a pretty big deal to get over.  Are you going to follow the Saviors strategy or societies system to success?