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?

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.

As we started this section on submission Peter began first with a call to submit rightly to governing authorities, second he talked to us about submission and our superiors, and what it looks like to walking out God’s Will in the workplace. Third he talked to us out submission in our most sacred relationship,  reminding us that marriage matters. Lastly he is going to call us to submit rightly in our regular everyday relationships. Many of us struggle with submission and look at it as something just to survive through but the truth is that God’s plan isn’t for you to survive life it’s to thrive in life. God’s plan is for you to prosper and be productive, and there is something inside every one of us that desires and drives us to pursue prosperity. That’s why people play the Power ball, they are willing to gamble at great odds in the unrealistic chance of success.  We all want to live the life, so we chase after the American dream of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  The problem is not prosperity, its our definition of prosperity and the plan we chose to pursue to find it. Society tells us to seek the path of self, but scripture tells us to seek the path of the Savior. The real question is what are you pursuing and what path are you taking to get there? The world tells us that success and satisfaction is found in the stuff but the Word tells us it’s not about the possessions it’s about people. True treasure is found in relationships not in riches.  This is what Peter is calling us to pursue, the real riches which are our relationships.  But if we want rich relationships, it requires us to respond rightly. What about you what are you pursuing? There are only two things that are eternal souls and scripture. Are you investing in smoke and sand or that which will stand the test of time?