1 Peter 3:13 13Who is going to harm you if you are seek to be good?
This simple question is loaded with the assumptions and background of this letter, particularly the suffering of the believers in Asia Minor. After reading about God’s blessing for the righteous in the previous verses, one might wonder why God allows his children to suffer. In answer to this rhetorical question, we might say, “Lots of people!” It seems we are constantly dealing with adversaries and contrary people who make life difficult.
Peter is writing to believers who are experiencing persecution and suffering. Some may have been slaves or in difficult family situations. Their faith was being tested by how others were treating them. Those who were suffering for their faith could give several different responses to their persecutors. They could respond with a self-pity and feel sorry for themselves, which might keep their faith from growing, or they could develop more endurance as they modeled their faith in how they reacted. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount and turn the other cheek and respond in love (Matthew 5:39, 43–48). This may or may not stop the harm others want to do to us, but it will provide a witness like Jesus when he suffered.
Being eager to do good in a difficult situation helps melt away people’s motives to do us harm. Our positive response may not stop the harm, but it makes this harm turn back upon the persecutors with the possibility of them experiencing guilt for doing the harm. Those persecutors who have rejected God’s light will also suppress any guilt they feel for doing harm. We can hope that our pure motives and response of love will soften the harm others want to do to us. Whatever happens, we can seek to be positive because we know God is with us, and the difficult situation can help our faith develop.