1 Peter 4:2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Peter continues the theme of suffering. Suffering like Christ for being righteous will has a way of purifying our faith like gold in fire (see 1 Peter 1:6-7). Our faith is strengthened by our need to trust in God more because the securities offered by this world are taken away. Often, those who have experienced suffering in their lives have stronger faith than those who have enjoyed relative peace and security in this life. Wealth is one of those securities. This may be why Jesus said that it is more difficult for a rich person to get into heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24). The rich person puts his or her trust in wealth and what it provides. Financial security can provide some peace, but this peace is shaky and can be taken at a moment. It is sad that suffering is often required in order for us to put our trust in God more than things of this world.
Peter goes as far as to even point out that suffering has the potential of keeping us from evil human desires. As verse 1 indicates, suffering in the body helps us overcome the problem of sin. How? It changes our focus from relying on self, which is an open door to temptation and sin, to focusing on God and the basic necessities that God gives us. Our strength is found in God. Our desires are shifted from doing things to please ourselves to doing what God wants. This is a difficult message to accept and live by. No one by nature seeks out suffering. By nature, we are protective and selfish. But God can change our nature so that this protective and selfishness become the means to express love to others.
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