1 Peter 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Living to please self results in the list Peter gives in this verse. Peter brings up these acts of sin because he is reflecting on how people avoid suffering by following the empty promises of the world. The fallen world, basically people given in to the sinful nature, says that by satisfying our lusts for power, sexual fulfillment, wealth, and control, we will find happiness. But this happiness is shallow. Suffering of all types is part of being human. This broad and general human suffering comes from being part of nature and is increased through selfish living. The activities that Peter lists make seem to bring happiness, but they eventually bring destruction. An old preacher in one of my churches, once said, “Sin’s banquet never ends like it begins.” If we choose the way of sin, it may bring temporary satisfaction, but what does it satisfy? Only our selfishness and sinful indulgence. This can only bring a worse type of suffering. We may reap much suffering in this world from our choices, but our choices also will have eternal consequences.
Peter tells his readers that it is time to leave those activities behind. The unrighteous, especially our friends who are caught in the trap of these activities, will not like that we have left this life behind. They may even respond to us by causing us pain, sorrow, and suffering. But through this, we can find strength in God as our faith and reliance on God grows.
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