1 Peter 2:17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
This is a summarizing statement of what Peter has been saying in this paragraph. Believers should respect all people. This is not always easy, especially when we disagree with people’s opinions, how they work or lead, or their personalities. Showing respect is a response of love in reflection of God’s love. Love is the required ingredient to show respect to all people.
Peter next encourages his readers to love the family of believers. Those who believe in Jesus are a family. Often this family is closer than physical family. We share a common Father who loves us all equally. We have to learn to live as family, which requires patience and forgiveness. When siblings disagree, they either learn new people skills of getting along or they plant seeds which can grow to become enemies.
Fearing God is crucial in a right perspective about life and love and holiness. There are two ways to think of this. One is the awe all creation shares in coming before the Holy God. We fall down in worship because of God’s awesomeness and holiness. The other is fear of God and the conviction that results from the reality of sin that will be punished in God’s justice. This type of fear should keep us away from sin and help us say no to temptations. Some people (and even theologians) like to explain this fear away as unhealthy. But such fear is human and can be healthy spiritually by serving as a warning.
Finally, Peter exhorts his readers to honor the emperor. This would be difficult for some people who faced persecution or saw through the human face mask of bad Roman emperors. We face a similar challenge today with bad politicians. We may disagree and should seek to vote them out of office, but we should never resort to violence or threats. God is in control and allows humans to choose their leaders. Sometimes bad people with power are able to elevate bad people to power. God puts the responsibility on us in many ways. That is part of how societies are structures. When we disagree with what our country has done in choosing its leaders, we must still pray for them (1 Timothy 2) and respect them (Romans 13) and trust our future to God.
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