“by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” – 1 Peter 2:15
We can do good in the face of evil. That is a powerful way to speak up.
A primary goal of Pride Month is the “uplifting of LGBTQ voices.” So when do we break our silence and speak up?
We all know the adage, “actions speak louder that words.” But how often do we trust our actions instead of our words? In the previous devotional, we saw that the power of the gospel is often preceded by silence. But at some point, someone must share the gospel. So how do we get there?
One of the biggest challenges of being silent is giving others the stage. We might hold our tongue, but our opponents won’t. So not only do we have to face their verbal attack, we are letting them make their point without any challenge. Is that really what God wants?
We can take comfort in the truth that one day everyone will be silenced before God (Rom. 3:19). But what do we do until then? Peter tells us we can silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. God’s Spirit in us empowers us to do good even in the face of evil. Doing good is a powerful way to speak up.
God’s Spirit in us empowers us to do good even in the face of evil. Doing good is a powerful way to speak up.
You are the best person to judge what good is in your situation. But we agree we should be good employees, meaning we do our jobs well. But even that can run into problems when your company defines a good employee as one who supports Pride events.
Another option is to choose another cause you can support and get involved in. It might be a mentoring program or opportunities for those with disabilities. You could raise awareness for a disease or help raise funds for a humanitarian cause. You might even volunteer for trash duty after a Pride event. Ask God to show you what you can do, and start working towards those goals.
It is tempting to think doing good will have a limited effect on silencing ignorance. But Peter gives us these instructions after he tells us to be subject to human institutions (1 Peter 2:13) and before he commands us to be subject to our employers, even unjust ones (1 Peter 2:18). We may disagree with our government’s or company’s position on homosexuality. But we can still use our spiritual freedom to do good (1 Peter 2:16).
Peter closes this section by reminding us of the example of Christ, specifically in how he spoke. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:22-23).
Jesus entrusted himself to his Heavenly Father, even to the point of death. As a result, God justly raised him to life because he “committed no sin.”
We have committed many sins, but if God has raised us with Christ, we too can entrust our good works to “him to judges justly.” Moreover, those good works can help create the silence in which the gospel can be heard.
What good can you do that would be noticed by those who support Pride?
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